Premier League footballers are to continue their support for anti-racism on the pitch but will no longer be associated with Black Lives Matter.
When the 2020-21 season begins on Saturday, players will take the knee before kick-off and will carry the slogan No Room For Racism on their shirts but there will be no mention of the movement that has brought the subject of racial justice to the fore in the US and beyond after it caused controversy for the league earlier this year.
During the restart that followed the suspension of football owing to the coronavirus pandemic, players wore badges endorsing Black Lives Matter for all nine match days. A gesture of solidarity with protests in the US, the UK and elsewhere following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, it was a move universally approved by the players but also, unusually, supported by the Premier League. Continue reading