On Thursday night, Sparta Prague faced Glasgow Rangers for the second fixture of the Europa League group stage. The football match was initially supposed to be played without spectators, but UEFA granted permission for 10,879 children, accompanied by adults, to watch the game.
Glen Kamarra, Rangers Finnish midfielder οf Sierra Leone origins, was booed by Sparta fans whenever he gained possession of the ball. In the second half, he was sent off after receiving a second yellow card with the fans continuously cheering while he was exiting the pitch.
Marvin Bartley, the SFA’s equality advisor, tweeted about the children’s behavior during the game.
“In no way is this the fault of the CHILDREN because they’re behaving in a way they see adults do/encourage. “What chance do they have when placed in a bowl with rotten fruit.”
The Czech foreign minister, Jakub Kulhánek, has urged British Ambassador Nick Archer to inform the Scottish Football Association that the Czech Republic requests an apology or a distancing for remarks made by Marvin Bartley following Rangers’ trip to Prague last week.
“Therefore, I asked for an apology or a clear distance from the person who publicly uttered the comparison of Czech children to rotten fruit. There were many players of different nationalities and skin colors on the football pitch last Thursday, and none of them were the target of racist offenses,” he said.