Some England fans booed their own players taking the knee against Romania for the second consecutive match despite Gareth Southgate‘s calls for supporters to “respect” the stance taken by the squad.
Southgate was widely praised for his statesmanlike approach to the subject during his pre-match press conference on Saturday where he reaffirmed that squad’s commitment to taking the knee after the players were booed for doing so against Austria on Wednesday.
The England manager met with his players on Friday to discuss whether to continue making the anti-racism gesture and he revealed that everybody was “united” in their desire to keep doing so.
“I wanted to hear from the more senior players in the group first and foremost,” said Southgate during his pre-match press conference.
“I met with a slightly smaller group because it’s easier for people to talk and open up. My role is to represent the feelings and thoughts of the whole group and it was important to hear their view.
“We did discuss ‘Is there a better way of doing this? Is there a more impactful way now of doing this?’ Perhaps, moving forward there probably is. But at this moment in time, given what happened the other day, we weren’t prepared to take a backward step.
“We feel that would be wrong and would be bowing to pressure from outside and we don’t think that’s appropriate. So, we’re united on that as a team. I spoke with the wider group about that today and everybody feels comfortable with that. Most importantly the players are supporting each other and that’s a big thing for us over the last few years and we’re totally united on how we feel about this.
“It’s my responsibility to represent them in the best way I can but I can’t totally feel what it has been like for them because I haven’t walked in their shoes. But I do have a very good understanding of it.
“I would ask people to reflect on how they would feel if they were an England player, a young England player, just about to represent their country and hearing basically the team being booed.
“I was concerned that what happened could affect the young players in particular because it happened immediately before the kick-off. I’d have been confused. I don’t know how I would have reacted as a young player. In essence, people are booing their own team. I don’t really understand that. If you don’t agree with the situation then you don’t have to applaud or do anything. To boo your own team is very strange.
“This gesture of taking the knee is a moment for people to reflect and they can choose to reflect how they choose. Personally, whenever I’m doing it, I’m thinking of the boys that play for us, the journey they’ve been on, the difficulties they’ve faced in their lives that sadly they seem almost immune to at times but certainly at other times it hurts.
“Ahead of the European Championship, where the games are being shown around the world, that moment just before kick-off will have a significant impact. If we can affect only a handful of people then we’ve made the world better for others. We’ll affect more than a handful of people, so it’s worth us continuing.”
He added: “One minute a player is being booed, the next they’re being cheered for making a tackle, putting a cross in, scoring a goal. We want everybody united behind the team at this moment.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3poT6FQ
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