Clubs split over whether players should still take the knee before games
Many now fear gesture in danger of losing impact
ENGLISH football is facing internal turmoil over whether players should still ‘take a knee’ before matches.
What began during Project Restart as a unanimous gesture of support for the anti-racism movement after the death of George Floyd in America in May, is now causing serious confusion.
Several clubs have decided it will lose significance if continued indefinitely and yesterday in 16 out of 37 matches in the top four divisions, players did not kneel before kick-off.
It went ahead in all four Premier League matches yesterday and at every game in the Championship except Norwich v Preston. But in League One and Two out of 23 matches players did not take the knee in 15.
Coventry and QPR players declined to take the knee before Friday night’s Championship clash on Sky TV.
QPR boss Mark Warburton said: ‘We have absolute respect for such an important cause. We are saying there should be guidance from the EFL. We abhor all discrimination and I don’t think there’s a more-diverse club.’
After taking the knee before their match with Bournemouth, Middlesbrough’ s assistant boss Kevin Blackwell said: ‘We need some guidance from the Football League about this. There’s a point now where we’ve got to decide “is this relevant?”.’
But after their match with Huddersfield, Brentford boss Thomas Frank said: ‘ I didn’t know some teams didn’t do it. I think it’s a good cause and we all should support it.’
ENGLISH football is divided over whether it is still relevant to ‘take a knee’ before matches.
What began during Project Restart as a unanimous gesture of support for the anti-racism movement after the shocking death of George Floyd in America in May, is now causing confusion for many players.
Several clubs have decided that it will lose significance if continued indefinitely and yesterday in 16 out of 37 matches in the top four divisions players did not kneel before kick-off. Players knelt in all four Premier League matches and at every game in the Championship except Norwich v Preston. But the picture was less clear in League One and League Two where the majority did not take a knee. Out of 23 matches in the lower two leagues players did not take the knee in 15 of them.
QPR have reiterated their commitment to fighting racism and social injustice after their players and Coventry’s declined to take the knee, as has been habitual in televised games, before Friday night’s Championship clash on Sky TV.
Manager Mark Warburton and chief executive Lee Hoos have both spoken in support of player protests to highlight racial inequality.
But they insist that taking the knee is an issue for players and that the club should be judged on its record rather than the gesture itself. Both teams agreed with the referee that they weren’t going to take the knee before the game and Warburton said: ‘We have absolute respect for such an important cause and all of our players, to a man and staff, followed the lead [last season] and took the knee. Some teams have been saying at the end of lockdown, that we’ve done it now. So we’re saying there should be guidance from the EFL.
‘When I came off the pitch l ast night and was made aware that some were saying QPR’s behaviour might have been inappropriate, I was appalled.
‘ We had t he fi rst game against Nottingham Forest last week and both clubs said: “We’ve done it. We’re full of respect for the cause but we don’t want it to become a token gesture.” Our players are saying: “Are we doing it every game?”
‘As in the clap for carers, it tends to lose its power over time. But when clap for carers stopped, there’s no less respect for carers.
‘We abhor all forms of discrimination and I don’t think there’ s a morediverse club in football. It’ s important that we’re seen to have BAME [Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic] representation, given the work we do in our community, which is a very diverse. Any suggestion that the club has acted inappropriately should be met with a powerful response on our part.’
Hoos, meanwhile, was adamant that the stance of the players was not an endorsement of those seeking to belittle taking the knee or the message behind Black Lives Matter. He said: ‘People who say “All Lives Matter” just don’t get it and to suggest that QPR support that kind of thinking would be perverse.’
After yesterday’s match with Bournemouth, Middlesbrough assistant boss Kevin Blackwell said: ‘Myself and people from Bournemouth spoke about it and we decided we would both take a knee.
‘We need guidance from the Football League about this. There’s a point now where we have got to decide “is this relevant? Are people getting the meaning across?” I would like to see people now do things about it rather than sit down and talk about it. We need actions taken for the right reasons.’
Sheffield Wednesday and Watford took the knee at Hillsborough and Owls boss Garry Monk said: ‘We want to keep awareness of it in the spotlight and not let it fade away.’ Brentford’s Thomas Frank added: ‘ I didn’t know some teams didn’t do it, I think it’s a good cause and we all should support it.’
Every game now the officials ask both sides if they want to do it, or as individuals. But we do it as a collective. We want to keep the awareness of it in the spotlight and not let it fade away. SHEFFIELD WED MANAGER GARRY MONK It was great that all the clubs put out such a clear message and that everyone took part. I think there is also the point where we have to say right now that it’s OK that we don’t have to speak about this topic - the message has been given. NORWICH HEAD COACH DANIEL FARKE We need some guidance from the Football League. There’s a point now where we have got to decide “is this relevant?” Are people getting the meaning across? I would like to see people now do things about it rather than sit down and talk. KEVIN BLACKWELL, BORO ASSISTANT MANAGER