England stars determined to continue taking knee at World Cup

ENGLAND players believe taking the knee at the World Cup in Qatar will still make a powerful statement of equality as Premier League captains discuss the matter with team-mates for the first time this week ahead of the new season.

The FA will let England’s players decide whether to press ahead with the pre-match gesture in the new international season and at the World Cup. Gareth Southgate’s team are under growing pressure to speak out against the human rights abuses that have occurred in Qatar in the lead-up to the tournament. Sportsmail understands a core group of England players still believe that taking the knee is an important and impactful gesture — particularly at a tournament such as the World Cup. England players have taken the knee during the Women’s European Championship this summer and early indicators from the men’s camp suggest there is support for them to take the same stance in Qatar. The national team could be influenced, though, by whatever decision is taken by top-flight players in the coming days. The captains from Premier

League clubs held a meeting on Thursday to discuss a number of issues, one of which was whether they should still take the knee before games.

The likely outcome is that players will continue to do so. However, some captains are yet to discuss the matter with their team-mates and asked for time to hold those conversations at their clubs. Captains will report back with their findings and a final decision will be made before Friday’s

Premier League opener between Crystal Palace and Arsenal. Players took the knee ahead of the Community Shield between Liverpool and Manchester City — but whether players decide to prolong the gesture in the Premier League will not be impacted by Saturday’s clash at the King Power Stadium.

The act of taking the knee was introduced by top-flight teams in 2020 during the post-Covid

Project Restart, as a show of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement following the brutal murder of George Floyd by a police officer in America.

The gesture has continued, although there has been criticism that the act has political connotations. Sources have indicated to Sportsmail over the summer that certain figures were keen for it to be scrapped because it was proving too divisive.