co-author: Mohamed Hassan
Millwall fans applauded as their team stood arm in arm with Queens Park Rangers players whilst holding a ‘United for Change’ banner prior to their game last Tuesday.
The team were led out by defender Mahlon Romeo, ahead of captain Alex Pearce, who felt “personally disrespected” by sections of Millwall supporters booing players taking the knee ahead of their match against Derby County at The Den last Saturday.
In a Millwall Club Statement about the incident, they said: “The players are continuing to use the biggest platform they have to support the drive for change, not just in football but in society generally.”
Millwall fans boo as players take the knee.
Loud booing could be heard when players from both teams took the knee in support of #BlackLivesMatter movement before kick off, with at least one supporter heard shouting “get up!”
More on this story: https://t.co/SCap9JiTnz pic.twitter.com/Ybvl8K8inf
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 5, 2020
In conjunction with the Premier League’s No Room For Racism initiative, players have continued to take the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement to raise awareness for social justice.
The club were left “dismayed and saddened” by Saturday’s events as the return of fans, for the first time since March, was “completely overshadowed.”
Whilst the actions of those Millwall fans have been widely condemned, MP George Eustice offered his support, saying: “B-L-M is a political movement that is different to what most of us believe in, which is standing up for racial equality.”
Romeo was cheered at the end of Tuesday’s game as he raised his shirt, displaying the Kick It Out logo.
Another incident that sparked discussion over racism in football occured in the Champions League as Paris Saint-Germain played Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir on Tuesday night.
A word that the Romanian fourth official Sebastian Coltescu used to refer to the assistant coach of the Turkish Side, former Cameroon international Pierre Webo, was interpreted as racist by players on both sides of the field. The decision was made, led by Senegalese striker Demba Ba, to abandon the game after a heated discussion with match officials.
“It’s about time a stance was taken.”
“It’s good to see the players are together on this.”@GaryLineker, @rioferdy5, Paul Scholes, and Owen Hargreaves look at the incident in Paris tonight that saw Istanbul Basaksehir and PSG players leave the pitch. pic.twitter.com/VwOVQ1hPtn
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 8, 2020
The game was played the following day with different officials. But was it the right decision? Raven asked former DR Congo Captain Gabriel Zakuani who said “I believe it’s the right thing under the circumstances because it’s a problem that needs to be solved now, we have tried many methods to eradicate it from the game, so the players need to stick together to send a clear message.”
The Congolese defender, who played for several sides in England, believes there should be tighter sanctions for those who are involved in acts of racism on and off the pitch “I think the hierarchy needs to do a lot more with bigger sanctions, bigger fines and bans for supporters caught doing such things, it should be everyone against racism. In this era, it should be a priority to get rid of it and I applaud Demba Ba for such bravery.”
UEFA has promised to investigate what happened in Paris on Tuesday night with the potential for big sanctions for the Romanian official. The official continues to deny racist intentions.
(Top Image: Dominic Jacques-Bernard/Creative Commons)