The newly crowned Scottish champions have urged swift action by UEFA in response to Thursday night’s incident
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard says midfielder Glen Kamara told him he was racially abused by Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela in the last 16-16 Europa League match, and that he has supported his player “100 percent”.
A scuffle broke out between sides in the last five minutes after Kudela revealed something shaking in Kamara’s ear.
The tie was effectively determined by that point, with Rangers down to nine men and losing 3-1 on the cut.
What did Gerrard say?
“I feel angry,” Gerrard told reporters. “It’s hard to describe how I feel now because I know Glen and I trust 100 percent. It is extremely disappointing.
“Kamara Valley is for me one of my own. I 100 percent believe what it says about the accusation.
“Other players have heard about him so I will stand firm with Glen Kamara and deal with this however Glen wants to deal with him. I am proud of all my players showing loyalty and from the top of this club to the bottom we stand with the players.
“This situation is beyond UEFA now. I hope it will not be pushed under the rug.
“All I can prove is that my player is telling me he was racially abused. I tried to call Glen over during the game, it didn’t come over.
“I was going to ask him if he wanted to leave the pitch and I would have supported him no matter what his decision was but the players stayed on the pitch, it was that was their decision and the game was over. “
How did Slavia Prague respond?
“Slavia strongly denies that Ondrej Kudela discriminated against the player’s opponents in any way,” Slavia president Jaroslav Tvrdik wrote in a statement.
“Our player was physically assaulted after the match. At Slavia’s request, the matter was resolved by the local police. We would like to see a detailed investigation with the whole situation with UEFA.”