Celtic and Rangers unite in stand against racism ahead of Old Firm derby
Since the start of the season, players at Scottish Premiership matches have been taking a knee before kick-off to show support for the movement for racial equality.
However, the pre-match ritual has come under scrutiny following the alleged racist abuse suffered by Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara at the hands of Slavia Prague midfielder Ondrej Kudela during Thursday’s Europa League tie at Ibrox.
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Hide AdRangers manager Steven Gerrard revealed his players would not take the knee before the match, telling Sky Sports: “We won't take the knee. I spoke to both captains and made a collective decision that they're going to stand. Stand side by side and we'll support that and follow suit as a staff as well.”
And Celtic interim boss John Kennedy confirmed his players would follow suit: “We’ll be the same,” he said. “I think it’s important that everybody comes together. Something like this is bigger than football. This is an issue with society in general but football is a platform to send out a strong message, so we’ll be doing the same.”
Celtic captain Scott Brown also made a point of seeking out Kamara during the warm-ups, walking into the Rangers half to shake hands with the Finnish midfielder in a show of solidarity.
Both sets of players then stood in unison ahead of kick-off at Celtic Park in a call for more action to be taken against racist abuse.