Slavia Prague vow to respect outcome of racism investigations

Slavia Prague have vowed to respect the outcome of investigations into their controversial clash with Rangers – and take action if necessary.

The Czech league leaders have denied racism accusations against their player, Ondrej Kudela, and accused his alleged victim, Gers midfielder Glen Kamara, of punching his opponent after the Europa League game on Thursday.

Kamara claimed Kudela’s version of on-pitch events was a “complete and utter lie” and added that Gers team-mate Bongani Zungu had heard what was said.

A statement published on Slavia’s Twitter account read: “Everything that happened in Glasgow is now being examined by UEFA and – on our initiative – by Scottish police.

“We believe everything will be investigated and we will respect the decision. If the outcome warrants it, we will act.

“We hope that the situation will not escalate further and we will know the outcome of the investigation soon.

“We appeal to our fans to restrain from any inappropriate statements, and we believe that Rangers FC will do the same. It is the only possible way.

“There will be no further comment from the club as we do not consider appropriate to engage in the exchange of views on social media where – among our other things – death threats to our supporters were published.”

Slavia chairman Jaroslav Tvrdík declared himself “extremely ashamed” by a photo of an “absolutely disgusting, embarrassing, racist” banner aimed towards Kamara by a group of fans over the weekend.

Police Scotland confirmed on Monday that an investigation was under way.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We have received a report of an assault following the match between Rangers and Slavia Prague at Ibrox on Thursday, 18 March, 2021. Officers are liaising with both teams and an investigation is under way.”

Slavia used the Czech Embassy in London to file their complaint after first requesting consular assistance immediately after the game.

A statement from the embassy read: “The Embassy of the Czech Republic in London was contacted by the representatives of SK Slavia Praha after the match with Rangers FC on 18th March to provide them with assistance, as they were concerned for their security.

“The embassy fulfilled its consular duties to help Czech citizens in need and contacted Police Scotland.

“The police later confirmed that the team securely arrived to their hotel from Ibrox stadium. Police Scotland also promised to conduct another risk assessment in the morning to assure the safe departure of the team from the country.”

Slavia won 2-0 at Ibrox to set up a quarter-final meeting with Arsenal.

Celtic and Rangers players both stood in solidarity with Kamara before their derby clash on Sunday.

Police Scotland later said they were investigating a number of complaints received over online racist abuse aimed at Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos, who scored in the 1-1 draw.