England fans boo Croatia national anthem and players taking the knee ahead of Euro 2020 opener
England‘s players were met with a mixture of boos and applause as they took the knee before kick-off in their Euro 2020 opener at Wembley.
A minority of fans jeered the anti-racism gesture despite pleas from the manager Gareth Southgate and the Football Association to respect the players.
Some fans were also heard booing the Croatian national anthem.
The Football Association had implored fans not to boo ahead of the match, releasing a statement on Saturday night saying the country should be “united” in fighting discrimination.
“We encourage those that oppose this action to reflect on the message you are sending to the players you are supporting,” the FA said.
“Please respect their wishes and remember that we should all be united in the fight to tackle discrimination. Together. They will do their best for you. Please do your best for them.”
A YouGov poll published this week found that 54 per cent of fans in England supported players “taking the knee” with 39 per cent opposed. A separate Ipsos Mori poll showed 48 per cent of football fans in England would support the England team taking the knee at Euro 2020, with just over one in four opposed (27 per cent).
What are the origins of taking a knee?
The kneeling protest was first staged in 2016 by Colin Kaepernick, the now former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who knelt during the US national anthem to protest police brutality.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour,” Kaepernick said at the time.
The gesture became more widespread as the Black Lives Matter movement gathered pace following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
Floyd’s death sparked protests around the globe and, in a sporting context, athletes across a variety of sports opted to take a knee before fixtures, with Premier League and Championship matches doing so ahead of kick-off since last July.
Some clubs and players have since stopped the gesture, with talks expected to take place this summer regarding whether players will take a knee in the 2021-22 campaign.
Critics of the protest say it improperly politicises sport and they dislike the gesture’s links to the organised element of Black Lives Matter, which some consider a far-left movement imported from the United States.
Speaking on BBC coverage before kick-off, former England defender Rio Ferdinand dismissed the notion that taking a knee is political.
“We haven’t had people able to come here [Wembley] and support the national side for 18 months. Come and support your team,” Ferdinand said. “The players and manager have come out now and told you multiple times what the reasons are behind them taking the knee and it’s not political. Put that aside now and support the boys. This is the start of a tournemant now and we all want England to do well.”
Speaking to the BBC ahead of kick-off, Southgate said: “Whatever happens before is for individual people to decide. We know what we’re doing. We’re totally focused on the football.”
In several press conferences and interviews leading up to Euro 2020, Southgate had reiterated the squad’s stance, and stressed the boos will not stop them from taking a knee.
“We’ve accepted that, as a group. It isn’t going to stop what we are doing and what we believe. It certainly isn’t going to stop my support for our players and our staff,” Southgate added.
“That’s it, we are going to have to live with that. We’ve said what we are going to say now.
“You are right to ask the question today but moving forward, it is pointless me going into any further detail on that.”
Rashford: It’s the right thing
Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, who has been a tireless campaigner for the free school meals campaign, captained England in their friendly against Romania and scored the winner from the penalty spot.
With boos before kick-off overshadowing the game, the 23-year-old said after full-time that the squad continue to believe taking a knee is the right thing to do.
On the boos, Rashford said, “It’s something that we can’t control,” before adding: “For us we believe it’s the right thing to do so we’re going to continue to do it.”
After the Austria match, Aston Villa captain Jack Grealishtold fans that England’s players do not want to hear them booing when they take the knee before matches.
“I was obviously aware of it, I heard it. I didn’t like it at all,” he told Sky Sports. “None of the players like it.
“I think that will get talked about in the next few days. It’s a thing we don’t want in football in general and especially in our England games.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3wkQkE5
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