Celtic captain Scott Brown made a point of showing his support for Rangers' Glen Kamara, after the latter made a complaint of racist abuse on Thursday.
Kamara alleged that Thursday's match with Slavia Prague was marred by an incident where opponent Ondrej Kudela called him a 'f***ing monkey'.
🤝A touching moment at Parkhead as Celtic captain Scott Brown shows his support to Glen Kamara after the Rangers midfielder suffered alleged racist abuse on Thursday in the Europa League
📺Watch Celtic vs Rangers at home - live on Sky Sports now! pic.twitter.com/qVTZgQLdik— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) March 21, 2021
Glen Kamara
Kamara released a statement through his solicitor on Friday morning, making plain his allegations and the reasons behind a furious reaction towards the Slavia man.
"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, not any other to have to tolerate racial hatred on or off the pitch in 2021. The vile racist abuse by Ondrej Kedel took place on the international stage, and any failure to act by UEFA will be viewed as a green light for racism.
"During yesterday's match with Slavia Prague, Kedel was arguing with a Rangers player and after I tried to intervene, he told me to shut up and then 'one second, my friend.'
"He then came to me covering his mouth, leaning into my ear, he uttered the words - 'You're a fucking monkey, you know you are.'
Shock
This video says so much.
What player approaches an opponent like this to simply say "You fucking guy?"
What opponent reacts so angrily to those words? He's instantly very clear over what he's heard.
The response of those in ear shot is telling too.pic.twitter.com/QQiTiXHFSM— Melissa Reddy (@MelissaReddy_) March 19, 2021
"I was shocked and horrified to hear such racist abuse from a professional football player. Kedel's claim he simply wore at me and said 'You're a fucking guy' is a complete and utter lie which does not stand up to any form of scrutiny.
"Kedel'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 footballing 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."
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