Now Premier League are set to ditch BLM badge

Premier League clubs are set to drop the controversial Black Lives matters slogan from players’ shirts when the delayed 2020-21 season begins next week. all 20 clubs showed their support for the global antidiscrimination campaign by carrying the BLm logo on their kit during every game of Project restart. But Sportsmail has learned that there are no plans for the symbol to be used on shirts next season, with the Premier League planning to champion diversity in other ways. Clubs will discuss plans for another anti-discrimination campaign at a shareholders’ meeting today, which as

Sportsmail revealed yesterday will also feature a vote on how the season should be curtailed in the event of another shutdown. Players will be permitted to continue taking the knee if they wish in support of diversity, as arsenal and Liverpool players did before last Saturday’s Community Shield. But such gestures are likely to be left as a matter for individual clubs rather than being mandated by the Premier League.

GARETH SOUTHGATE issued a rallying cry to his squad as he praised them for emerging as England’s lockdown heroes. The national-team boss had not seen his players for 10 months before this international break because of the pandemic. And he took the chance on Monday night, hours after the players reported for duty, to address them at the national football centre in Burton. The England manager spoke of the challenges that have confronted football and society during the health crisis. And he lauded his players for the role they played in lifting the nation. Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson — who are missing from this squad through injury — have been at the forefront of successful social initiatives. Rashford lobbied the Government to provide school dinners for some of the UK’s poorer families, and Henderson led the Players Together group who raised millions of pounds for the NHS. Raheem Sterling’s work in fighting for racial equality amid the Black Lives Matter movement was also praised. The FA’s bid to increase diversity will become more prominent over the next few weeks as they launch their Diversity Code. But Southgate stressed the importance of focusing before next year’s postponed Euro 2020, a tournament for which England will be one of the favourites. For Saturday’s clash with Iceland, Southgate has no qualms about selecting Sterling and Joe Gomez despite their row at St George’s Park in November. Both are likely to play some part.