CELTIC skipper Scott Brown went out of his way to show his solidarity to Rangers rival Glen Kamara before today’s Old Firm kick-off.
Pre-match footage of the incident showed the Hoops captain walking into the Rangers half during the pre-match warm-up.
The pair shook hands and hugged in a brilliant moment of respect.
It was a nice touch as these two Glasgow giants prepared to do battle on the Old Firm stage.
And Brown said afterwards that it it was important for him to show solidarity.
Brown told Sky Sports: “Definitely, I think it is disgusting what has happened to be perfectly honest.
“It doesn’t matter whether it is a Rangers player or a Celtic player, or whoever it is throughout.
“It should never be part of the game, it just shows that we stand with them and is that little bit of respect as a fellow professional.”
The gesture came as both sets of players stood up and refused to take a knee before kick-off.
Glen Kamara released a statement to say he was called ‘a f***ing monkey’ by Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela during Thursday night’s Europa League tie at Ibrox, a version of events which was backed up by his team-mate Bongani Zungu.
Kudela denied the allegations – claiming he said “you f***ing guy” when he was spotted covering his mouth and whispering something in Kamara’s ear.
He also claimed he was punched by Kamara in the tunnel after the game.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Gerrard said: “We won’t take the knee.
“I spoke to both of my captains yesterday and they’ve made the collective decision that they are going to stand and stand together side by side.
“We will support that and follow suit as a staff as well.”
On the decision he added: “I wasn’t aware of the chat that the players have had amongst themselves but James [Tavernier] and Connor [Goldson] came to see me yesterday.
“I totally understand the decision they have made and totally back it 100 per cent.
“And we will do the same as staff to show them the support.”
And his opposite number John Kennedy told the broadcaster: “We’ll be the same. It is important everyone comes together.
“This is bigger than football, but football has a chance to send out a strong message. So we will do the same as them.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
