England players to take a knee at Euro Cup despite fans' booing
By Associated Press
LONDON: England players will take a knee at the European Championship despite fearing an adverse reaction after the anti-racism gesture was booed by their own fans before a warm-up game against Austria.
Fans had been shut out of England matches since 2019 until the 1-0 win against Austria in Middlesbrough, where the pre-match gesture was met by loud booing that was swiftly drowned out by the applause of others.
England midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who was on the bench for Wednesday’s match, said he was left “confused and disappointed” by the jeering.
“I think I was just happy that the boos got cancelled out by the fans cheering in the end, but I don’t think it’s a great situation, especially for us players,” said Phillips, who is Black. “The team spoke about it together and we came up with the conclusion that, regardless of what goes on around, we’re still going to participate in the kneeling and I think that’s a great idea.”
The final warmup match before Euro 2020 — against Romania on Sunday — is also being played in the northeast town of Middlesbrough.
