Rangers star Ianis Hagi was dropped from Romania’s starting lineup for an international friendly against England on Sunday evening which was overshadowed by controversy over the taking of the knee.
Hagi had started a 2-1 home defeat to Georgia a few days previously but was named on the bench for the clash against the Three Lions at the Riverside Stadium.
Romania boss Mirel Radoi brought the 22-year-old on in the 66th minute with the scores locked at 0-0, but his introduction didn’t have the desired effect, with the hosts taking the lead just two minutes later through a Marcus Rashford penalty.
The visitors held their own in the contest with 45% possession and 14 shots, but they couldn’t find a way past Sam Johnstone in goal and the game finished 1-0.
Much of the talk before and after the friendly has been about the taking of the knee rather than the action, though.
Some fans booed the England team for the gesture, just as they did ahead of the friendly against Austria at the same venue a few days earlier, ignoring Gareth Southgate’s pre-match message about the importance of unity.
Even more controversially, though, Hagi’s Romania teammates Nicolae Stanciu and Ionut Nedelcearu stood rather taking the knee.
After the game, Stanciu, who starred for Slavia Prague in their Europa League Last 16 triumph over Rangers last season, explained that it was his way of supporting Ondrej Kudela, who was found guilty of racially abusing Glen Kamara during the second leg of that tie.
“I did it to show my solidarity with Kudela, my colleague at Slavia,” explained the attacking midfielder [Scottish Sun].
“He was suspended for ten games based on no evidence – just like that because a team-mate of Kamara heard a word I cannot say.
“I don’t believe kneeling is the solution, so I decided not to do it.”
Unsurprisingly, Stanciu’s comments provoked furious reactions on social media from Rangers fans and many others from the wider footballing community.
Kudela would have turned out for the Czech Republic in their Euro 2020 opener against Scotland at Hampden Park next week, but he is missing the tournament because of his ban.
In other news, a European club reportedly want to sign a Rangers star who’s top of their target list ‘as soon as possible’.
