GLEN KAMARA has broken his silence on the Ibrox race-hate row – and revealed Slavia star Ondrej Kudela branded him a “monkey”.
Kamara is facing a Uefa probe while the Czechs claim they’ve made a complaint to cops alleging he punched Kudela in the face.
But the furious Finn has now given his side of the flashpoint in a strongly-worded statement released through respected lawyer Aamer Anwar.
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard later backed the midfielder as he revealed Kamara told him he had been racially abused.
He said: “There is no place for racism or any form of bigotry in football.
“Since summer many of us have taken the knee in solidarity with those who have lost their lives to racial violence.
“If Uefa genuinely wants to ‘show racism the red card’, then it’s time to stop the tokenism and take a zero-tolerance approach.
“As a player I do not expect myself, nor any other to have to tolerate racial hatred on or off the pitch in 2021.
“The vile racist abuse by Ondrej Kudela, took place on the international stage, and any failure to act by Uefa will be viewed as a greenlight for racism.
“During yesterday’s match with Slavia Prague, Kudela was arguing with a Rangers player and after I tried to intervene, he told me to shut up and then said ‘one second my friend’.
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“He then came over to me covering his mouth, leaning into my ear, he uttered the words – ‘You’re a f***ing monkey, you know you are’.
“I was shocked and horrified to hear such racist abuse from a professional football player.
“Kudela’s claim he simply swore at me and said ‘You’re a f***ing guy’ is a complete utter lie, which does not stand up to any form of scrutiny.
“Kudela’s actions were deliberate and premeditated, but he was loud enough for my team-mate Bongani Zungu to hear what was said.
“I am grateful for the unconditional support of my team, our club and especially our manager Steven Gerrard.
“I want to thank not just our Rangers fans, but the many fans from across the football community and beyond, for calling out racism not just against myself, but also fellow player Kemar Roofe, who was subjected to a tirade of racist bile on Instagram.
“We as black players are sick of the freedom that such bigots are given to parade their hatred on social media and wonder when the likes of Instagram will start to take action.”
However, Slavia Prague and Kuleda have denied the allegations of racism against him.
Kudela, 33, said: “I completely reject accusations of racism. I said to him ‘You’re a f***ing guy’.
“Rangers did not want to let us into the dressing room for 45 minutes. I have never experienced anything like this in my career.
“When it seemed that the situation had calmed down, I met Kamara in the tunnel.
“In front of the Uefa representatives and both managers, he punched me full in the face with his fist, calmly and prepared, without any warning.”
In a statement earlier on Friday night, Slavia claimed to have filed a complaint to Police Scotland over Kamara’s alleged assault of Kuleda in the tunnel after the game.
However, Police Scotland confirmed they have yet to receive a complaint from either club
A spokesperson said: “No reports of criminality have been made by either club in connection with last night’s match.
“Police Scotland has contacted club officials and assured them that should any allegation be received it will be investigated thoroughly.”
Uefa have now launched an investigation into both alleged incidents.
SunSport understands Uefa observer Ray Ellingham witnessed the tunnel clash but did not hear the abuse from Kudela.
Gers have defended Kamara with managing director Stewart Robertson demanding the race claims must not be “swept under the carpet”.
Robertson said: “Racism is unacceptable in any form and in any setting.
“The racist abuse suffered by Glen will not be tolerated by Rangers. As a club, we stand resolutely behind Glen as we support him and his team-mates.
“It cannot be merely swept under the carpet. We are not prepared for Glen Kamara to be yet another statistic. Enough is enough.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
