Source:REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw
[Saba Sports News] According to British media reports, due to increasing divisions among anti-racism activists about this symbolic gesture, Premier League clubs may stop the kneeling gesture next season. The Premier League plans to consult with captains of all clubs before the season starts and make a decision based on feedback from the annual pre-season meeting. Following England’s women’s team’s decision to stop the gesture at the Euros, players faced racial abuse. It has been reported that the Professional Footballers’ Association supports England’s women’s decision. Since the Black Lives Matter movement, Premier League teams have kneeled before matches for five years. This gesture first appeared in June 2020 during the match between Aston Villa and Sheffield United, the first Premier League game after the sports blackout caused by the pandemic. Afterward, the England men’s and women’s national teams and other leagues followed suit, although most teams later abandoned it. In the previous Premier League season, the kneeling ritual was reduced, being held only before the first and last matches of the season, as well as the “Zero Racism” matches in October and April.