England stars took the knee prior to kickoff in their World Cup opener against Iran on Monday, after u-turning on wearing a OneLove rainbow armband earlier.
The anti-racism gesture is something the Three Lions have done for a long time before games, but they didn’t do it before the Nations League matches in September against Germany and Italy because the Premier League captains opted to restrict its use at home.
England players all take the knee before kick off. They continue to lead the fight for inclusivity. #ENG #ThreeLions pic.twitter.com/mmpVnA9Vjo
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) November 21, 2022
But England felt this was an appropriate time to bring it back, with manager Gareth Southgate saying it is “what we stand for as a team and have done for a long period”.
He continued: “We understand in the Premier League that the clubs have decided to only do that for certain games, big occasions.
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“We feel this is the biggest and we think it’s a strong statement that will go around the world for young people in particular to see that inclusivity is very important.”
Typically players would take the knee at the sound of the referee’s whistle.
However, with FIFA not having been involved in the gesture, the players went to their knee while the pre-match kick-off countdown was taking place.
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