Rangers consider STOPPING taking the knee ahead of Old Firm derby

Rangers consider STOPPING taking the knee ahead of Sunday’s Old Firm derby as they wait for UEFA’s judgement after Glen Kamara and Kemar Roofe suffered alleged racist abuse in Europa League tie with Slavia Prague

  • Rangers are waiting for UEFA to act on the alleged racist abuse on two players 
  • Steven Gerrard’s side reported two cases after this week’s loss to Slavia Prague 
  • Glen Kamara claimed Ondrej Kudela a called him a ‘f****** monkey on Thursday
  • Striker Kemar Roofe was the subject of racist online abuse along with Kamara
  • Rangers are deciding on whether to stop taking the knee at Celtic on Sunday

Rangers players will consider whether to stop taking the knee prior to Sunday’s Old Firm derby with Celtic as they await action against the racist abuse suffered by Glen Kamara and Kemar Roofe.

Rangers are demanding ‘unequivocal’ action from UEFA after being angered and sickened by the abuse suffered by Kamara and Roofe this week. The squad has discussed if the pre-match protest really sends out a strong enough message.

Kamara insists he was called ‘a monkey’ by Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela during Thursday night’s Europa League tie at Ibrox. Kudela refuted the allegations and has since countered he was punched by Kamara in the tunnel after the game.

Rangers will consider whether to stop taking the knee as they wait for the consequences of alleged racist abuse towards Glen Kamara (right) and Kemar Roofe 

UEFA are investigating after Kamara claimed he was called ‘a f****** monkey’ by Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela (left)

In a further depraved twist, sick images posted by Slavia Prague ultras on Friday evening showed them holding a banner saying ‘Kamara – just a n*****’. The images were eventually taken down but Kamara and Roofe have been targeted on social media with further vile abuse.

UEFA opened an investigation into Thursday night’s ugly scenes but admit they have limited power over social media platforms, prompting Kamara and his team-mates to join the clamour for greater punishments to be handed out and such social media accounts to be deleted more swiftly.

Kamara’s legal representative Aamer Anwar told Sportsmail: ‘Though he has listened to Slavia Prague’s robust denials regarding racism, my client has yet to see any condemnation from the club regarding the images posted by their fans.

Slavia Prague ultras held up a vile banner calling Rangers midfielder Kamara a ‘n*****’

Rangers’ Kemar Roofe (left), who was sent off in the Slavia Prague clash, received further racist abuse on social media after the game

‘We are sick of the freedom given to these abusers on social media platforms.

‘When issues of copyright arise, posts are taken down almost immediately, yet what quick steps were taken here when we see a banner with the N-word left on view? It gives opportunity for further abuse and incites hatred. No-one should be subjected to that.’

Mr Anwar revealed that, despite statements to the contrary from Slavia Prague, Scottish police have yet to receive any criminal complaint regarding Kamara’s alleged attack on Kudela following Thursday’s game.

Rangers travel to rivals Celtic on Sunday lunchtime having already been crowned champions

He also underlined the importance of manager Steven Gerrard’s unwavering support and that Kamara had received messages of solidarity from across the game including many from Celtic fans.

‘Glen is extremely grateful to Rangers and the outstanding, unconditional statement of support from his manager Steven Gerrard. He is also extremely grateful for messages from many Celtic fans wishing him well. Despite the great football divide it’s good to know there is a unity in this fight. The real onus now is on what happens next.

‘If UEFA and other organisations are really serious about giving racism the red card we need to see more than just condemning it, we need to see tough sanctions being deployed. We are seeing senior players opting not to take the knee because it is seen as tokenism. It will continue to be tokenistic unless we see any real change.’ 

Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha has stopped taking the knee as he feels it is insufficient

How taking the knee has divided some clubs and players

September 2020 – QPR say they will not take the knee before Championship game with Coventry as it is ‘little more than a PR exercise’ 

December 2020 – Middlesbrough players stopped taking the knee with captain Britt Assombalonga saying it’s time for ‘action instead of empty statements.’

December 2020 – Millwall fans boo their own players taking the knee alongside Derby County ahead of a Championship fixture. Some Colchester United fans also booed the knee against Grimsby in the same week 

February 2021 – Brentford announce they will also stop taking the knee before all matches and are joined by Bournemouth a few days later.

February 2021 – Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha becomes the first Premier League player to stop taking the knee, citing that it is ‘degrading’ and has ‘lost its meaning’.

March 2021 – Two Derby players, Colin Kazim Richards, who was racially abused recently, and Andre Wisdom do not take the knee, with Kazim-Richards standing and raising a fist in the air when others kneel.

Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha has already underlined that he no longer thinks taking a knee is sufficient protest against racism. 

The sentiment has been echoed by Championship sides Brentford and QPR while Manchester United and other Premier League sides have been vocal in their demands for greater clamp downs on social media.

All eyes will be on newly-crowned Scottish champions Rangers at Celtic Park on Sunday and their players are eager for the correct message to be relayed. 

Kamara has received support from various quarters including former QPR and West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand who has spoken candidly in recent months about his battle against racism.

Last month, The Premier League, FA, EFL, WSL, Women’s Championship, PFA, LMA, PGMOL and Kick It Out all co-signed an open letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook founder, chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, demanding immediate action earlier this week.

Facebook-owned Instagram announced new measures, including the removal of accounts to prevent abusive messages on its platform, while Twitter vowed to work closely with the football community to tackle the problem. 

But many have criticised the firms over the length of time it takes them to act when racist abuse is posted.

Manchester United and England striker Marcus Rashford suggested deleting accounts should be a more straightforward process after witnessing the abuse suffered by team-mates Axel Tuanzebe and Paul Pogba. 

‘It should be easy to stop, just deactivate the accounts,’ said Rashford. ‘We know that it’s very easy to make four or five accounts but if you have to block them all, then block them all.

‘That’s on the social media companies themselves. If they see anyone being abusive in any way, their account should be deleted immediately, that’s how you’d deal with it.’

Several high-profile footballers such as Marcus Rashford have called on social media to protect footballers from abuse, such as racism




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