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ALL players should ‘take a knee’ in protest against the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in the US city of Minneapolis after a white police officer knelt on his neck, antidiscrimination body Kick It Out chairman Sanjay Bhandari said on Monday (1). Floyd‘s death last Monday (25) has sparked unrest across the US and led to curfews in dozens of cities. Sports professionals have also lent their voices in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
‘Taking a knee’ has become a popular mark of protest across the world after US quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt at NFL games to protest against racial injustice. Even police officers in Miami resorted to the gesture to make peace with protesters.
English player Jadon Sancho and French footballer Marcus Thuram led protests in the German Bundesliga, with the latter taking a knee in a goal celebration over the weekend.
Kaepernick’s legendary photograph was juxtaposed with an image of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck.
“If you score a goal… take a knee, could everyone do that? Not just the black players, the white players too, everyone. Every player should do it,” Bhandari told the Guardian.
“It should be teams doing it… They could all take a knee. Racism’s not about black players or brown fans, it’s about all of us. Racism corrodes society and we’re all hurt by it.”
Bhandari said he hoped players would not be cautioned or punished for expressing their support in a manner that they saw fit.
“I would like to encourage the players to protest if they want to, but I would also like to encourage them to do it in a way that doesn’t expose them to any unnecessary sanctions,” Bhandari added.
“I would urge all the authorities and all the clubs to show a degree of understanding. This is almost above politics, this is about right and wrong.”
Football’s world body FIFA has asked authorities to “use common sense and have in consideration the context surrounding the events” when deciding to take sanctions against protesting players.
“FIFA fully understands the depth of sentiment and concerns expressed by many footballers in light of the tragic circumstances of the George Floyd case,” the global governing body said. “FIFA has repeatedly expressed itself to be resolutely against racism and discrimination of any kind.”