Rangers star Glen Kamara subjected to ‘racist abuse’ during Slavia flare-up sparked when Kudela whispered in his ear
RANGERS star Glen Kamara was allegedly subjected to racist abuse during an angry flare-up in their Europa League clash with Slavia Prague. The Light Blues star was left visibly angered by Slavia defender Ondrej Kudela as angry scenes flared up in the final stages of the 2-0 defeat at Ibrox. Connor Goldson was penalised for […]
RANGERS star Glen Kamara was allegedly subjected to racist abuse during an angry flare-up in their Europa League clash with Slavia Prague.
The Light Blues star was left visibly angered by Slavia defender Ondrej Kudela as angry scenes flared up in the final stages of the 2-0 defeat at Ibrox.
Connor Goldson was penalised for a foul and in the aftermath Kudela covered his mouth and appeared to whisper something towards Kamara – who could be heard screaming in the direction of the referee following his words.
The incident sparked fury amongst the Rangers players with Goldson leading the charge alongside his team-mate after hearing what was allegedly said.
It is not clear at this stage what the comment made towards Kamara was.
The drama continued after the full-time whistle with Steven Gerrard talking to a number of Slavia players on the pitch as well as members of the Slavia coaching staff.
Speaking about the incident on BT Sport, pundit Stephen Craigan said: “It looks like he has been abused in some way, we don’t know how.
“But the fact he has covered his mouth shows he wants it to remain private.
“He has travelled 60 or 70 yards to get involved in an incident across the pitch.”
TV pictures showed Gerrard and his Slavia counterpart Jindrich Trpisovsky out on the pitch in discussions once again after the match with officials as they spoke about the incident in length.
Speaking after full-time, Gerrard confirmed Kamara had told him he was racially abused.
He told reporters: “Sometimes in you career there are things that happen that are more important than the game, that are above football. That’s what’s happened tonight.
“First, I’ll deal with the football side. We were beaten by the better team over the two legs so congratulations to Slavia. They deserved it and in no way do I want to sit here and be a bad loser and come out with any excuses. I’m really proud of my player for the efforts and the journey they took us on.
“In terms of the other incident, I have to be careful what I say but you build relationships in football and I have built a very, very strong relationship with Glen Kamara.
“Glen Kamara to me is one of my own. I 100 percent believe what he is saying in terms of the accusation. Other players around him heard it.
“I will stand with Glen Kamara and deal with it however he wants to deal with it. I’m proud of all of my players tonight. They showed solidarity and from the top of this club to the bottom we stand with the players.
“It’s over to Uefa now, this situation, and I just hope it doesn’t get brushed under the carpet.
“I feel angry right now. It’s difficult to describe how I feel because I know Glen, I trust him 100 per cent. It’s extremely disappointing and there’s too much of it happening around football.
“The Slavia player has caused this, caused the situation to escalate even further because straight away the fans join in and the racism just grows and grows and grows.
“Something needs to happen quickly, that is above me. But 100 per cent I stand with Glen.
“There was a lot of commotion around that we tried to defuse and this will be taken on by Uefa. I’m sure they will speak to both players and we will let other people deal with it.
“All I can confirm is that my player tells me that he was racially abused.
“I tried to call Glen over during the game but he didn’t want to. I was going to ask him if he wanted to leave the pitch and I would have backed him whatever his decision was.
“The players stayed on the pitch and it was played to a conclusion. It’ll be taken out of my hands now and be dealt with by Uefa.
“I just hope, with all my heart, that people deal with it because that situation is not normal.
This is a cool, calm kid and it’s not him to accuse someone of anything. It’s not him.
Steven Gerrard
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“If I wanted to say something to you on a football pitch, why do I need to cover my mouth with my hands.
“They were 2-0 up at the time and we had nine men. What’s disappointing to me is that there are people trying to defend the opposition player. Their people are trying to defend him.”
On Kamara’s state of mind, he added: “Devastated would be an understatement. This is a cool, calm kid and it’s not him to accuse someone of anything. It’s not him.”