Rangers captain Lorenzo Amoruso yesterday admitted that he made what has been interpreted as a racist remark in some quarters, during the UEFA Cup game between Borussia Dortmund and the Ibrox club earlier this week.
The Italian defender made his admission in a statement which was issued on his behalf by the club and which also included an apology to the Borussia striker.
It is not known whether Rangers will take disciplinary action against the player but it became clear yesterday that the governing body for the competition, UEFA, has set the matter aside.
They received no mention of the incident from referee Sarvan Oguz, of Turkey, nor from their official oberserver at the game. Under these circumstances, a spokesman indicated that it was unlikely the matter would be pursued.
The German club and their player, Nigerian internationalist Victor Ikpeba have made no complaints about the matter with Ikpeba insisting that he had no problems with Amoruso.
In yesterday's statement, issued early in the afternoon, Amoruso explained: ''During the game against Borussia Dortmund, I was involved in an incident with Victor Ikpeba and words were exchanged between the two of us.
''However, in a highly charged football match, it is not unusual for tempers to boil over and I do not remember making the remarks attributed to me.
''This morning, I viewed the video recording of the game and, on this evidence, I cannot dispute the fact that I made the remarks.
''I would like to make an unreserved apology to Victor Ikpeba for these comments. I would like to make it clear that I am not a racist and deeply regret any upset I have unwittingly caused to the player, or anyone else.''
Rangers appended their own views to that release with club director and secretary Campbell Ogilvie stating: ''Lorenzo Amoruso, Dick Advocaat, and myself discussed the incident at length this morning and it is accepted that the player did not recollect having made
the comments. However, on viewing the video recording if the match, the player admits that the comments attributed to him were made.
''Lorenzo is not a racist and, obviously, he deeply regrets his actions, which took place in the heat of the moment. This was
certainly a case of the player
making remarks at a tense point in the match and deeply regretting his actions afterwards.
''Rangers Football Club do not condone his comments and, as a club, we are involved in several anti-racism initiatives.''
Rangers do have the power to fine Amoruso up to a maximum of two weeks' wages - close to #40,000 in the case of the Italian.
It would seem more likely, though, that Amoruso, after owning up and apologising, will be reprimanded by the Ibrox club, especi-ally as Borussia seem to want the whole affair forgotten.
qan under-21 match at Dens Park might just rank among the most important occasions of Daniel Prodan's career.
The Romanian defender, signed from Athletico Madrid in July of last year, has yet to be seen in first-team action for Rangers.
However, Prodan, who made a successful return to action against Dundee's youngsters last week, said: ''I feel very good.
''I don't know how many more games I will need before I am ready for the first team, but I
am happy because I've played
and the knee is okay.''
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