Chris Sutton has backed Rangers ace Glen Kamara over allegations he was racially abused by Slavia Prague's Ondrej Kudela - and urged UEFA to throw the book at the defender.

Kudela allegedly abused Kamara during the game as he cupped his hands and whispered to the player. Slavia deny the racism accusations, however, and claim the Gers midfielder PUNCHED his opponent and that they had to call in cops to escort them from the stadium.

But ex-Celtic striker Sutton has supported Kamara and spoken of his temperament in previous seasons. The former striker admits he has never seen the ex-Dundee man react the way he did during the Europa League last-16 clash, and that he would only have done so if seriously provoked.

And Sutton insists that if football's governing body can determine that it was indeed racist abuse directed at Kamara, they must punish Kudela in the strongest possible fashion.

"It's shocking," Sutton said on BT Sport last night. "It has to be investigated fully. I have to say, I've watched Glen Kamara play for a number of years and I've never seen him react in any incident like that. He reacted strongly, something clearly was said where he was incensed. If it was the case there was racist abuse then UEFA need to throw the book at the player."

Sutton also believes Kamara would have been completely entitled to walk off the pitch in protest at his treatment had he decided to do so. "It's a players' right to walk off the pitch," he added. "Some think that's the right thing to do, others think it's better to stay on and make a stand but the Rangers players were certainly entitled to walk off the pitch."