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Rangers star Glen Kamara has said that he feels “vindicated” after seeing Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela drop his appeal against a 10-match ban for racially abusing the midfielder.
The Czech Republic international was banned for 10 games by UEFA last year after Kamara reported that he had called him a “f****** monkey” during a Europa League tie between the sides at Ibrox.
Kudela denied the charge, claiming he had called Kamara a “guy” rather than “monkey” and contested the ban. The player’s appeal was set to be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in April but he decided to withdraw his appeal.
The 34-year-old defender, who learned last week that he will not face criminal charges, said he wanted to close the matter “definitively”.
Kamara said on social media that he felt the move “vindicated” him and thanked people for their support. The Rangers midfielder had served a three-match ban himself for punching Kudela in the tunnel after the match and had also been told he would not face criminal charges.
He tweeted: “I feel vindicated as Kudela drops his appeal against 10 match ban by UEFA for racially abusing me 1 year ago-I’m grateful to Rangers, our fans & the many other fans/clubs who supported me- but I also want to thank my lawyer Aamer Anwar who fought my corner unconditionally.”
Anwar said last week: “The Crown advised my client that they believed there ‘was sufficient admissible evidence to warrant a prosecution’ against Mr Kudela, but he would have faced summary court proceedings & extradition was not a viable option for the Scottish authorities.
“My client is happy the matter is at an end. Racism should have no hiding place in football & he’s deeply grateful to his teammates, club & fans from across the football world for their support.”
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