Premier League captains discussing whether to continue taking knee

Forum 1 year ago

Premier League captains discussing whether to continue taking knee

Premier League captains are in discussions about whether players should continue to take the knee in an anti-racism gesture ahead of the new season.

The gesture was introduced in June 2020 when football in England restarted amid the Covid-19 pandemic as a show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement, and has since continued as part of the Premier League's 'No Room for Racism' campaign.

However, some players, such as Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha, have stopped taking the knee due to ongoing racist incidents and believing the gesture has lost meaning.

Zaha said in March 2021: "There is no right or wrong decision, but for me personally I feel kneeling has just become a part of the pre-match routine and at the moment it doesn't matter whether we kneel or stand, some of us still continue to receive abuse."

BBC Sport report that Premier League captains are in talks over whether they should scrap the gesture moving forward. One meeting has already been concluded without a resolution, but another is pencilled in for the coming days.

The Premier League have confirmed they will support whatever decision the players come to. The new season kicks off on Friday evening when Crystal Palace welcome Arsenal to Selhurst Park.