No charges brought in Rangers v Slavia Prague racism case, lawyer responds
Glen Kamara’s lawyer says the Rangers star is “disappointed” that Ondrej Kudela has escaped prosecution for alleged racist abuse last season.
The Slavia Prague player was banned for 10 games by UEFA for racism towards the Finnish midfielder after the Europa League match at Ibrox last season.
The Czech defender denied the allegations and prosecutors have decided against bringing charges, according to the Daily Record.
A Crown Office spokesperson said, via the Daily Record: ““After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances, including available admissible evidence, the Procurator Fiscal decided that there should be no proceedings taken at this time.”
Kamara himself was banned for three games by UEFA after he was seen to have assaulted Kudela after the final whistle, but will also not face charges.
His lawyer Aamer Anwar said, via the Daily Record: “My client Glen Kamara is pleased that following submissions being made to the Crown and careful consideration of the evidence, that he will face no criminal proceedings.
“Uefa had already imposed a 10-match ban on Mr Kudela on the basis of evidence presented and found him guilty of ‘racist behaviour’ towards Glen.
“It remains disappointing that Mr Kudela chose not to personally attend a Scottish police station to answer an allegation of racist abuse. He could then have taken up the opportunity of defending himself in court.
“Glen is happy the matter is at an end. Racism should have no hiding place in football and he is deeply grateful to his teammates, club and fans from across the football world for their support.”
Unsavory affair
As is so often the difficulty in such cases there is a lack of evidence to move the matter forward.
Victims of racist abuse frequently are obliged to prove further than giving their own word that they have been on the receiving end of such slurs.
That is obviously impractical a lot of the time because it often happens in a hidden fashion.
UEFA considered there to be enough evidence to impose a reasonably lengthy ban, and footage from the incident in the stadium certainly suggested something seriously untoward was said.
But with the burden of proof higher for criminal convictions, there appears to be no way of proving what was said beyond reasonable doubt.
The Light Blues will be pleased that their player is facing no further action, as that really would have been adding insult to injury.
After what was an unpleasant episode all round, those involved are expected to move on without a legal resolution.
Nobody should have to face racism, either at work or in their personal life, and the hope is that Kamara is able to overcome any lasting effects from this incident.
In other Rangers news, Charlie Nicholas has suggested that one established first-team player is only in the side on reputation.