Celtic captain Scott Brown put aside club rivalries before kick-off in the Old Firm on Sunday by showing his public support for Rangers’ Glen Kamara.
Kamara suffered alleged racist abuse in Rangers’ Europa League defeat to Slavia Prague on Thursday.
The 25-year-old accused Ondrej Kudela of “a complete utter lie” after the Slavia player denied abusing the Finland international.
The unsavoury scenes at Ibrox had overshadowed the build-up to Sunday’s Old Firm clash between Celtic and Rangers, in which Steven Gerrard’s men faced their foes just days after winning the Scottish Premiership title.
Brown is no stranger to the rivalry of this fixture but ahead of kick-off was determined to show a united support for the Gers player, crossing the halfway line as both teams warmed up to shake Kamara’s hand.
Before kick-off players chose to stand, rather than kneel, to show their opposition to racism.
“We won’t take the knee,” Gerrard said. “I spoke to both my captains yesterday and they made the collective decision that they’re going to stand, they’re going to stand together side by side, and we will support that follow suit as staff as well.
“I wasn’t aware of the chat the players have had between themselves, but James [Tavernier] and Connor [Goldson] came to see me yesterday and I totally understand the decision that they’ve made.”
Speaking ahead of the game, interim Hoops boss John Kennedy said: “It’s important everyone comes together.
“There are some things that are bigger than football. Obviously this is an issue for society in general but football has a platform to send a strong message.”
After Thursday’s incident Kamara put out a statement via his lawyer, which read: “As a player I do not expect myself, nor any other to have to tolerate racial hatred on or off the pitch in 2021.
“The vile racist abuse by Ondrej Kudela took place on the international stage and any failure to act by Uefa will be viewed as a green light for racism.
“There is no place for racism or any form of bigotry in football. Since the 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.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3lAxvZ0
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