English Premier League decides to minimize kneeling on the fields

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
4 Aug 2022 17:03
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The English Premier League announces that the act of kneeling in the face of racial inequality in sports will now only take place in certain games in the 2022/23 season.

Spurs vs. Manchester City (Premier League)

The English Premier League announced on Wednesday, after a meeting held between the league’s administration and top-flight captains of the teams, that the gesture of taking the knee will be limited to certain matches in the 2022/23 season of the games.

Kneeling only during certain matches

The initiative against racism, initiated by the football players themselves, represents a motif that racist behavior won’t have its space in football or society, which was highly noted in a statement by the league.

"Players will take the knee during the opening match round of the season, dedicated No Room for Racism match rounds in October and March, Boxing Day fixtures following the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Premier League matches on the final day of the season and The FA Cup and EFL Cup Finals," the statement read.

The act against racism in the field of sports became a ritual before every match since June of 2020 to demonstrate solidarity and sympathy with the Black Lives Matter Movement, in light of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police a month prior which sparked global protests.

In #BlackHistoryMonth, we recall some of the massacres committed by the white man against the black population in the #UnitedStates.
The racially motivated crimes were fueled by hatred for other human beings simply over the color of their skin.#BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/eLIQHnfmog
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 13, 2022

Players face rising racial abuse

Police brutality and institutional racism in various fields, such as sports, science, and education, have been on the rise across the globe as governmental flaws are becoming exposed in the way social justice is handled.

#Britain's police watchdog has called for an explanation for the rampant misogyny and "disgraceful" behavior after a newly published report cited widespread bullying, sexual harassment, and discrimination. pic.twitter.com/VzlZT86Ci0
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 7, 2022

With backlash from some sports fans and politicians including UK Home Secretary Priti Patel who accused the England team of participating in what he referred to as "gesture politics", this sheds more light on the racial inequities in athletics by going back to the knee-taking movement that American football player, Colin Kaepernick, began in 2016 for the same cause.

Patel’s disapproval of the gesture in English sports arenas may spark a chain reaction and become a matter of public opinion in England as more instances appear, with English football players enduring racial abuse by fans such as the Marcus Rashford incident of 2020.