To show their solidarity against racism, Premier League players will take the knee before the next two weekends’ games. The No Room for Racism campaign will be highlighted during the top-level matches played between October 8 and 16.
Team captains made a pact before the season that they wouldn’t kneel before every game but would instead pick pivotal moments to make a statement against racism. Even in Cup Finals and Boxing Day games, players will take a knee.
After the May 2020 death of George Floyd in the United States, prominent clubs began taking a knee in favour of the Black Lives Matter movement. Players have often said that their goal is to bring attention to No Room for Racism and to show their support for the organisation.
Premier League chief executive, Richard Masters made the following statement:
“We support the decision made by players to take the knee at specific moments during the season and we will use these matches to further promote anti-discrimination and educate fans.
“We continue to work hard to address discrimination and improve opportunities within the game, in line with our No Room for Racism action plan.
“We know more can be done to remove barriers to make football more inclusive and that football will benefit from greater diversity across all areas of the sport.”