A furious Steven Gerrard has called on UEFA to prove they’re serious about racism after accusing Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela of making a racist comment to Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara.
Rangers’ Europa League hopes were ended in a bad-tempered affair at Ibrox, in which they lost 2-0 and ended with nine men.
Leon Balogun and Kemar Roofe both were dismissed, but Gerrard was happy to admit that, over two legs, the better side had won .
But the Liverpool legend was angry with an incident late in the second half when Kudela said something to Kamara while covering his mouth
The Rangers midfielder reacted with shock and anger as teammates leapt to his defence.
Kudela and Conor Goldson were both booked in the ensuing melee.
(Image: Daily Record)
Gerrard held talks with his opposite number Jindřich Trpišovský after the final whistle and they again spoke at length, along with UEFA delegates, after the players had returned to their dressing rooms.
Speaking to the media after the game, Gerrard said: “First, I’ll deal with the football side. We were beaten by the better team over the two legs so congratulations to Slavia.
“They deserved it and in no way do I want to sit here and be a bad loser and come out with any excuses. I’m really proud of my player for the efforts and the journey they took us on.
(Image: Getty Images)
“In terms of the other incident, I have to be careful what I say but you build relationships in football and I have built a very, very strong relationship with Glen Kamara.
“Glen Kamara to me is one of my own. I 100 percent believe what he is saying in terms of the accusation. Other players around him heard it.
“I will stand with Glen Kamara and deal with it however he wants to deal with it. I’m proud of all of my players tonight. They showed solidarity and from the top of this club to the bottom we stand with the players.
“It’s over to UEFA now, this situation, and I just hope it doesn’t get brushed under the carpet.
(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“I feel angry right now. It’s difficult to describe how I feel because I know Glen, I trust him 100 percent. It’s extremely disappointing and there’s too much of it happening around football.
“The Slavia player has caused this, caused the situation to escalate even further because straight away the fans join in and the racism just grows and grows and grows.
“Something needs to happen quickly, that is above me. But 100 percent I stand with Glen.
“The disappointing thing for me is there are people trying to defend the opposition player – calling us liars.
“Sometimes during your career things happen that are more important than the game, that are above football. That’s what happened tonight.”
Sign up to the Mirror Football email here for the latest news and transfer gossip
