Euro 2021: teams that kneel before matches are not unanimous

It was an expected moment in this Euro.

Not for the attitude of the English players who were known to be motivated to put one knee to the ground before the kick-off of the match against Croatia on Sunday, like a large part of the sporting world and footballers since the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by a white policeman in the United States last year.

Not necessarily for that of the Croatian players, who remained standing.

It was above all the reaction of the 22,000 English supporters in Wembley stadium that was being watched.

The England team had indeed been booed by part of the public in Middlesbrough when they knelt before the friendlies against Austria (1-0) and Romania (1-0) last week.

Admittedly, the whistles had been covered by the applause of the rest of the spectators.

England coach defends his troops

Coach Gareth Southgate called on supporters not to boo the players for their initiative. And on Saturday, the English Federation issued a statement calling on supporters to respect the players of their national team. She recalled that the players kneel down “as a step in peaceful protest against discrimination, injustice and inequalities. This is important for the players personally and for the values ​​that this team represents collectively. We can find traces of this gesture of unity and the fight against inequalities until the 18th century. This is nothing new, and the Federation has been very clear that it does not view this initiative as an alignment with a political organization or an ideology ”. Before concluding :"We encourage those who are opposed to this action to think about the message you are sending to the players you support."

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At Wembley therefore, this Sunday, the gesture of the English players collected, apparently, more support than distrust.

However, this was not at all the case the day before when the Belgian players knelt before their match against the Russians, remained standing.

The public of St. Petersburg has indeed copiously hissed this attitude.

"If you don't understand what the downed knee means and the cause behind it, it's really, really disappointing," striker Raheem Sterling, who was on the bench at Middlesbrough, told talkSPORT radio. , and which offered the victory to England against Croatia this Saturday (1-0).

Russian supporters boo the Devils who kneel down in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Nice welcome… #BELRUS pic.twitter.com/aKWGFskcjk

- Maryam Benayad (@MaBenayad) June 12, 2021

But the controversy is not over.

Because if Prime Minister Boris Johnson had called on supporters to support the England team during the Euro, without condemning the boos, Conservative MP Lee Anderson had gone further by ensuring that he would not watch the matches of England during the tournament because of this position.

"We think it is the right thing to do, so we will continue to do it", for his part assured the striker Marcus Rashford, also very committed in the fight against discrimination.

Elsewhere, nothing is simpler.

The Croatian Federation had indicated that it would not require its players to kneel down, explaining that the gesture of support for the Black Lives Matter movement "in Croatian culture and tradition does not symbolize the fight against racism or the discrimination ”.

Before a friendly match last weekend against the Belgians, the Croats had already remained standing but, according to their Federation, they had "respected by silence" the decision of their opponents.

VIDEO.

How the downed knee became the new symbol of nonviolent protest

Other incidents recently surrounded these knee-to-ground poses.

Especially in Budapest, Tuesday June 8 during the friendly match Hungary - Ireland.

The public of this host city of the Euro copiously whistled the Irish.

Ireland coach Stephen Kenny said the boos were "incomprehensible" and "damaging" to the country's reputation.

"It is disappointing and it is not to the honor of the Hungarian supporters", he reacted.

But the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, defended the spectators Thursday, estimating that the gesture symbolizing the fight against racism "has no place on a sports field".

Scottish players said no

Moreover, Scotland's players will not be down on one knee before their Euro matches.

The coach Steve Clarke justified this decision by the fact that the meaning of this gesture symbolizing the fight against racism had "diluted a little".

The players will therefore stand.

As for the Blues, who will start the competition this Tuesday, in Munich, against Germany, they will kneel down as their captain Hugo Lloris indicated on Monday.