Glen Kamara 'disappointed' by length of Ondrej Kudela ban

The Slavia Prague defender has been handed a ten match suspension

Published 14th Apr 2021

Glen Kamara's lawyer Aamer Anwar says the midfielder has been left 'disappointed' by the length of ban handed to Ondrej Kudela.

The Slavia Prague defender has been suspended for ten matches after being found guilty of racist behaviour at Ibrox last month.

Anwar insists Kudela should have been hit with a minimum year-long ban for the incident.

A statement released by solicitor Aamer Anwar said: “It is welcome news that today UEFA has found Ondrej Kudela guilty of the racist abuse of Rangers player Glen Kamara.

"However, Glen is left disappointed that the sanction imposed by UEFA on Kudela is the bare minimum of 10 games, that could be imposed.

"On Monday we provided UEFA with a substantial dossier of evidence on Kudela’s racism seeking robust sanctions, but we also made submissions that the proposed 5 match ban for Glen should be reduced.

"Whilst Glen’s proposed 5 match ban is now down to 3, we will await the publication of UEFA’s full decision, before deciding whether to appeal against this sanction.

"As for the sanction imposed upon Kudela, UEFA should have imposed a minimum year-long ban rather than a tokenistic 10 match ban. Under the UEFA disciplinary regulations Kudela could have been banned for ‘at least ten matches or a specified period of time’, and we firmly believe that UEFA should have made use of the significant discretion available to them, to send a far stronger message that this type of abhorrent conduct will not be tolerated on the football field.

"There is no other workplace within which such racist behaviour would be tolerated.

"Sadly UEFA once again has made a mockery of their claims that they want to kick racism out of football.

"Ondrej Kudela acted in a grotesque and racist manner, but his behaviour was compounded by his club Slavia Prague, who implied that my client Glen was a liar.

"Kudela’s racist behaviour has consequences and it has incited the fans of Slavia Prague, who went on to subject Glen Kamara to horrendous racism on a daily basis.

"There is no excuse or justification for racism on or off the playing field, and it really is time for the footballing community to take action against clubs, fans and social media that perpetuate racism".