EUROPA League
‘UEFA RULING ON THE RACIST SLUR ON KAMARA IS A SAD EXAMPLE’ SAYS TUNDE ADELAKUN
Europe’s football governing body UEFA handed punishment to players involved in an on-field fracas during the Europa League game between Scottish champions Glasgow Rangers and Slavia Prague last month.
On March 18 in Glasgow, Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela had a confrontation which degenerated into a row on the pitch. The Rangers player involved, Glen Kamara was obviously and clearly reacting to something that was said to him and he was not happy. A few of his teammates rallied round and the Prague players also came round. It was an ugly sight.
Later on, it emerged that Kamara, a black Finnish player, claimed to have been racially abused verbally by the 34-year-old Czech player Kudela and it did not go down well with him.
A lot has been said about this, culminating in UEFA charging and handing a 10-match ban to Kudela for racist behaviour, and a three-match ban to Glen Kamara for his reaction to the racist slur cast on him.
Racial awareness activist ‘Tunde Adelakun has leant his weight on the matter, saying that UEFA’s actions in this matter was ‘an absolute joke which highlights what we have always been saying about why we still have racism operating actively in our sport’.
Adelakun, a British-Nigerian who plies his trade as Chief Scout to Nigeria’s national football team has always advocated for the football authorities to do more than they are doing to eradicate racism from football.
‘Only a few days ago, I called on the authorities to wade in seriously and decisively on this matter. We know racism in football is an extension of racism in the wider society. But football can play its part in educating every facet of the tribe on the effects of racism’.
There has been wide acclaim against the ban handed to Kudela and the impact of the ban, and Tunde Adelakun believes it was not enough and will be ‘no deterrent in any way, against such abuse being repeated in future.
‘UEFA had a big opportunity to put its foot down on this matter, with the Kudela case, and unfortunately did not take it. A 10-game ban for calling a fellow human being a ‘f***ing monkey’! That has got to be the biggest joke in the land’ the author and journalist turned coach exclaimed.
‘A 10-game ban will not stop the next player from saying worse things to a fellow player in future. If you slap him with a 1-2 year ban and punish his club for not giving enough education to their players – a big fine, a points deduction or something really heavy, then everyone, and I mean everybody in the football tribe will watch over their respective shoulders and caution each other on what is right and what is wrong’.
UEFA went on to ban Kamara for 3 matches, for reacting to the racial slur. When Adelakun was asked on this, his reaction was ‘Let me just laugh, I can’t comment otherwise I will say what I should not say’.
Adelakun has been calling on the football bodies to act, not only in punishing culprits but also providing a support system for players that were racially abused, and he took this chance to say it again.
‘I have said that players who are called names should be supported. By banning Kamara, you are punishing him for reacting to being called a ‘f****ing monkey’, but you are not supporting him and how he has been feeling since he was called that derogatory name. And that is wrong. Kamara is Finnish but we know he has Sierra Leonian roots.
‘In this case, I would love to know what the Finnish Football Federation have done to support his mental health having been called what he was called.
‘And I ask the question, if he was an African player, should we not see an organisation like CAF coming to his aid, supporting him and fighting the punishment being meted out to him?’ Adelakun, the voice of mental mindset awareness known as TundeTalks concluded.
Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA’s decision to drop them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday.
UEFA demoted Palace while allowing Olympique Lyonnais to play in the Europa League as, at the time of assessment on March 1, the Eagle Football Group were majority owners of Lyon while their chairman, John Textor, owned a controlling stake in Palace.
Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, will replace Palace in the Europa League.
“After considering the evidence, the panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date,” the CAS said in a statement.
“The panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL.”
Palace did not respond to a request for comment. Club chairman Steve Parish told reporters on Sunday that if Palace lost the appeal, they would “have to look if there’s any steps after that.”
The club, who qualified for the Europa League as FA Cup winners, appealed against UEFA’s decision last month.
The appeal came days before New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson completed the purchase of Eagle Football Holdings’ stake in Palace.
Textor has also resigned from Lyon’s board of directors with Michele Kang appointed chairwoman and president.
As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place because they had finished higher in their respective league. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League.
“Olympique Lyonnais welcomes today’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming its participation in the Europa League,” Lyon said in a statement.
Palace, who won the Community Shield on Sunday , beating Liverpool in a penalty shootout, are set to play in the Conference League’s qualifying playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
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UEFA has decided to postpone its assessment of the multi-club ownership case involving Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace until the French club’s relegation has been confirmed, European football’s governing body said on Monday.
The multi-club ownership regulations do not allow clubs under the same ownership compete in the same European competition, and American businessman John Textor holds a stake in both Palace and Lyon.
Palace qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup last season while Lyon reached the competition by finishing sixth in Ligue 1 but have since been relegated to Ligue 2 by French football’s financial watchdog (DNCG).
Lyon are appealing the decision, which came following an audit of the club’s finances, and UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body will now await the outcome of the appeal before making its decision.
UEFA and Lyon reached a settlement agreement over the club’s breach of the financial sustainability requirements, and as part of the settlement, Lyon agreed to their exclusion from European competition should the DNCG confirm their relegation.
League of Ireland club Drogheda United lost an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this month over their exclusion from the Conference League, after falling foul of the multi-club ownership rules.
-Reuters
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