Dundee United and Motherwell have taken a stand against the racist abuse suffered by Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara by refusing to take the knee in their Scottish Premiership matches.
In a counter-protest, United and Motherwell are following on from comments made by Gers defender Connor Goldson regarding “tokenism” in the wake of the abuse.
Footballers in Scotland have been taking the knee all season in a campaign against racism but on this occasion both clubs opted to stand in solidarity with the Rangers team.
A unified statement from the Motherwell team reads:
“When we started taking the knee at the start of the season, it had an impact. For the first few weeks, the message was loud and clear. Now it has been lost.
“Taking a knee has become something someone does now for the sake of it. It has completely lost its meaning.
“As a squad, we spoke and asked ourselves ‘why are we doing this anymore? Is it having any impact at all?’. The answer was a clear no.
“Taking a knee has become an empty gesture. Instead, we want those in power to take real and immediate action on racism.
“Apathy and complacency have set into the routine. We want our actions to cause a realisation and a reaction.
“Racism is apparent everywhere in the day-to-day life of society. People need to realise change is required.
“Players, clubs, authorities and society now need to unite, and fight for a level playing field for all.”
Kamara was abused by Slavia Prague defender Ondřej Kúdela as the Czech side beat Rangers 2-0 with striker Kemar Roofe also being exposed to a torrent of abuse online.
This was after the Gers striker was involved in an accidental collision with their goalkeeper which left him badly injured.
Support continues to pour in from across Scottish football and Rangers fans have been hanging a special banner at the training centre in solidarity with their players.
