Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela to appeal 10-match ban for racist comment to Rangers' Glen Kamara
The Czech international was sanctioned after an investigation over an allegation from Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara who claimed to have been racially abused by the 34-year-old on the pitch.
UEFA handed the defender a provisional one-game ban while they examined the case, and then extended the suspension by a further nine games across all of the European association’s fixtures – for club and internationals, ruling him out of this summer’s European Championships.
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Hide AdHowever after receiving a report of the governing body’s findings, the Czech player’s lawyers have revealed their intention to appeal his 10-game punishment – which was widely criticised when announced earlier this month. Kamara’s lawyer Aamer Anwar described the punishment as “tokenistic” and “the bare minimum” and added: "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.”
While banning Kudela for ‘racist behaviour’ in the game – which the defender continues to deny – UEFA also gave Kamara a three-match club competition ban for ‘assaulting another player’,which Rangers have said they would appeal.
Slavia won the controversial Europa League match 2-0 at Ibrox, but exited the competition in the subsequent round with Kudela missing the defeat by Arsenal.