The Union of European Football Associations [UEFA] issued three suspensions over a game last month between Scotland’s Rangers FC and SK Slavia Prague. During the game, two members of the Rangers engaged in unsportsmanlike behavior.
Kemar Roofe kicked Ondřej Kolář, the goalie of Slavia Prague, square in the face. Kolář was seriously injured and suffered a fractured skull. Roofe was issued a red card and removed from the game.
Then another member of the Rangers, Glen Kamara, violently attacked Slavia Prague member Ondřej Kúdela inside a tunnel at the stadium. Other members of the Rangers facilitated the assault by blocking Kúdela’s path. After the assault, Slavia Prague filed a criminal complaint with the police in Glasgow, Scotland. The team stated that “the assault was brutal and carried out with full force with the intention to hurt and cause physical harm to our player.”
After weeks of investigation, the UEFA has issued a four-game suspension to Roofe and a three-game suspension to Kamara. However, social justice activists in the United Kingdom transformed everything into a racial incident and reshaped Roofe and Kamara as victims. Roofe is mixed race and has partial Jamaican heritage. Kamara was born in Finland to parents that immigrated from Sierra Leone.
Kamara accused his victim of calling him “a f@cking monkey” on the field. The statement allegedly occurred when players from both teams were mutually yelling insults at each other while standing around the injured goalie. Kúdela maintains that his actual words were “f@cking guy.”
After weeks of investigating, the UEFA declared that there was no evidence that Kúdela ever said this. The UEFA examined video clips from every angle and interviewed every person who was on the field at the time.
However, under pressure from the activist media and British politicians, the UEFA issued a ten-game suspension against Kúdela, including the upcoming championship games. A longer suspension than Kamara and Roofe combined. The UEFA has also declared that Kúdela can not appeal the suspension.
“I am surprised that the UEFA Disciplinary Board has come to a different conclusion than its inspector before. According to him, there was no convincing evidence for my allegations of racism, which I continue to reject. ” – Ondřej Kúdela
The activists are not satisfied. They are claiming the ten-game suspension is scandalously short. They are demanding Kúdela be suspended for an entire year or life. British media outlets are treating Kamara as if he is the victim of a major crime.
The UEFA is sending a clear message that anyone can levy an accusation of “racism” against a White player and potentially ruin the player’s life. It matters not if the accusation is true or false.
However, there is a twist in this story. Miloš Zeman, the president of the Czech Republic, has strongly condemned the actions of the UEFA. Zeman is calling the suspension a miscarriage of justice. Zeman’s “office chancellor” Vratislav Mynář is also defending Kúdela.
“I would like to emphasize that racism has not been proven and remains alleged. Even the UEFA inspector himself doubted whether Ondřej Kúdela had made a racist statement. Yet, you have decided on a completely unprecedented punishment for a player who did not harm anyone physically” – Czech President Miloš Zeman
