Millwall fans are branded ‘racists’

MILLWALL fans were branded ‘racist’ after hundreds of them marked their return to The Den by booing their own players taking a knee before kick-off against Wayne Rooney’s Derby.

Furious jeers and shouts of ‘Get up’ echoed around the ground when players dropped to the pitch to show their support for Black Lives Matter.

The FA and the charity Kick It Out immediately condemned the incident, while former England international Micah Richards demanded ‘real punishment’.

And Millwall’s black defender Mahlon Romeo lashed out at the club’s fans, saying their hostile reaction to taking the knee had rendered the game ‘irrelevant’.

Teams have been showing their support for the anti-racist Black Lives Matter movement since competitive football restarted in June. But yesterday was the first time fans had witnessed the protest first-hand as thousands returned to football grounds for the first time since March.

There was a furious response to the action of Millwall’s fans with TV pundit Richards saying: ‘It’s just disheartening.’

And, speaking on BBC’s Final Score, the former Manchester City star demanded that Millwall take action.

‘There are 2,000 and you can actually pinpoint these people who are going now so they’ve got no excuses.’ he said.

‘I’m sick to death of talking about this situation to be honest, how someone can get in the ground and boo the Black Lives Matter, which to me is racist. Let’s see some real punishment.

‘I don’t want to see Millwall slapped with a ten grand fine. They know exactly who it is, they need to be punished.’