Ondrej Kudela must wait for chance to clear his name after 10-match racism ban

Ondrej Kudela’s appeal hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a 10-match racism ban imposed by UEFA has been delayed until April.

The Slavia Prague player was initially banned by UEFA on April 14 last year after its Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) found him guilty of racially abusing Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara during the Europa League match between the sides at Ibrox on March 18.

His first appeal, to the UEFA Appeals Body, was rejected, meaning the suspension stood. It covered the Czech Republic’s first three matches at Euro 2020 last summer.

He took the fight to clear his name to CAS, and the case had initially been slated for Friday.

However, the court confirmed on Thursday that, with the agreement of all parties and the panel, the hearing had been delayed until April 11 in the hope that by then it could safely be held in-person.

Kudela’s lawyer, Rene Cienciala, told the Daily Record that Kamara was one of “several witnesses” being called in, and that he wanted to cross-examine the Finland international, who alleged Kudela had called him a “f****** monkey”.

Cienciala told the newspaper: “My client will exercise his right to a fair trial at CAS, in which he wants to clear his name of accusations of racism which are, according to him, completely unfounded.”