Steven Gerrard hails ‘sensational’ Arsenal: I was really proud

Steven Gerrard has hailed Arsenal for facing down Slavia Prague before the game started after their player had been banned for 10 games for racially abusing Ranger’s Glen Kamara.

slavia prague vs arsenal
slavia prague vs arsenal

Ranger’s boss Steven Gerrard was full of praise for Arsenal’s approach to the game against the side that knocked his team out of the Europa League.

As Slavia Prague stood, opting once again, they say, to demonstrate their stand against racism by refusing to take a knee, Alexandre Lacazette knelt in front of their whole team on Thursday night, producing what will go on to become one of the most iconic anti-racism images of the year.

Gerrard approved.

Gerrard told a press conference on Friday: “I loved everything about the game. I loved Arsenal’s performance, I loved the way they went about it. I admired how they approached before the game, during the game and after the game.

“I’m sure Glen did as well but I was really proud watching Arsenal’s performance last night. Everything about it.

“The way they prepared for the game, the way the manager spoke, the way the players behaved before, during and after – and then to back it up with that level of performance.

“I sat there and really enjoyed that game, it was a sensational performance.”

Czech president makes bizarre claims after Slavia Prague player ban

The Czech president has hit out at UEFA for ‘discriminating against non-black people’ as the association banned Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela for 10 matches after he racially abused former Arsenal youngster, Glen Kamara.

slavia prague vs arsenal
slavia prague vs arsenal

Showing that he has absolutely zero clue what racism actually is or how it functions, the office of the Czech president, Milos Zeman, defended Kudela, who was banned for 10 games, stating that the charges were ‘unproven’ even though Kudela reportedly admitted them.

Daily Mail, 16 April 2021
Daily Mail, 16 April 2021

For those who still aren’t entirely clear about this point, ‘racism’ is not just someone of a different race calling you a bad name and positive discrimination or ‘quotas’ are not ‘reverse racism’.

For it to be racist, white people would need to first undergo centuries of enslavement, abuse, murder, rape, torture and discrimination at all levels of society because of the colour of their skin and then continue to experience, at the very minimum, abuse and disadvantage because of it.

As the Minnesota Daily put it, “Any group of people can experience racial prejudice or discrimination. However, racism refers to that prejudice in addition to the socialized power structures at play. So, not everyone can experience the racism that Black people do because the power dynamic that has existed since the Atlantic Slave Trade is just not equivalent to any other racial experience.

“The idea of “reverse racism” ignores the basic reality of who holds more power and privilege by assuming that everyone starts off on an even playing field. Its premise completely disregards any of the overwhelming evidence of institutionalized racism.”

Rangers' Glen Kamara (left) argues with Slavia Prague's Ondrej Kudela during the UEFA Europa League Round of Sixteen match at Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow. Issue date: Tuesday, April 6, 2021. Copyright: Andrew Milligan
Rangers’ Glen Kamara (left) argues with Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela during the UEFA Europa League Round of Sixteen match at Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow. Issue date: Tuesday, April 6, 2021. Copyright: Andrew Milligan

With Arsenal launching the #StopOnlineAbuse campaign and Thierry Henry quitting social media until the companies that run the platforms do more to stop abuse happening, Willian was asked about the issue ahead of Arsenal’s game against Slavia Prague in the Europa League.

“If they want to criticise me, it’s no problem,” Willian said. “But when they attack your family with words that I cannot say here, that hurts. It’s a big problem. These people, they have to pay for that.

“I’ve seen some people deleting their social media because of racism and the abuse. Straight away, I want to do that. But then when you think, take a few minutes and relax a little bit more [it changes].

“Yes, sometimes [I am afraid to look at my phone after a match]. We are human. We are professional. We do our best to help the team, we want to win, we never want to lose.

“But sometimes you have a bad day and they come and say words that hurt you. That’s why we want to stop it. Enough is enough. To change it, we need the authorities to act. That’s it.

“I will never stop my fight against racism.

“We have to find a way to change social media. People want to have Instagram, Twitter, Facebook — they need to put their ID, passport or whatever. Then when these things happen, we can catch them, the authorities can catch them. They (the Premier League, UEFA and FIFA) have to support us.”

Former Arsenal youngster, Glen Kamara, told ITV, “I haven’t paid much attention to what he’s done after this whole incident but I’ve seen their fans, how they’ve reacted and I’ll get (racist) abuse probably every day on Instagram.

“I had so many different emotions and felt like a victim. I just felt like a little boy (when the incident happened). It was a very weird feeling. Hopefully I never have to feel that again. If I could go back I’d walk off the pitch 100 per cent. My manager was trying to get me off the pitch but I couldn’t hear anybody.’

Kamara was also handed a 3-match ban for violent behaviour in the tunnel after the abuse.