England's players to decide on taking a knee - Southgate

By Sports Desk March 24, 2021

England boss Gareth Southgate has left it up to his players to decide whether they will take a knee prior to kick-off against San Marino.

The Three Lions start their qualification campaign for the 2022 World Cup with a fixture against the European minnows on Thursday at Wembley.

Since Project Restart last June, teams across Britain have taken a knee prior to the start of matches in a show of unity against racial abuse and discrimination.

However, with fans still unable to attend matches, the abuse received by players of ethnic minorities has not been stemmed, with several England stars having been the victims of abuse on social media.

Jude Bellingham – Borussia Dortmund's 17-year-old midfielder – has been the latest recipient. 

Several club sides have now stopped taking a knee before matches, while Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha recently claimed the symbol was nothing but a token gesture which does not go far enough to tackle the problem.

Last week, former England midfielder and current Rangers manager Steven Gerrard demanded UEFA take action after Glen Kamara alleged to have been abused by Slavia Prague's Ondrej Kudela, who played as the Czech Republic thrashed Estonia on Wednesday.

When asked if England would be taking a knee, Southgate told a news conference: "I've spoken with the leadership team about this last night and I've asked them to talk with the other players.

"I think it's a good process to hear each others' views first and foremost and that's part of how we educate ourselves in all of these different matters and issues.

"The one thing we're very clear on is that we'll be unified in whatever we do and if there's any doubt then I think we'll take the knee.

"I'm hugely respectful of everybody's individual opinions on that. I think there's still an impact from it but I listened to Wilfried Zaha's comments on it, for example, and I thought he spoke really well that it wasn't enough and it seemed to now be just part of the background.

"It's complicated, the debate around whether we should take the knee or not, or walk off the pitch. The core problems are with racism and discrimination – they're the deeper conversations that need to happen.

"The protests help put those conversations on the table but we've got to address the much deeper issues as much as we have to make a symbolic gesture."

Southgate was also asked if players would be best advised to delete social media channels to avoid abuse, though the England manager does not believe that to be a solution.

"The first thing is that clearly it's unacceptable for anybody to be receiving this sort of abuse," he said.

"It's a very complex situation for what action the players might take because [social media] is a brilliant tool for communicating with the fans. With no fans in the stadiums, to lose all contact with the fans is not something we want.

"Equally if that interaction is bringing that negativity and abuse into your life, nobody wants to put up with that.

"We need stricter legislation around the control of those sites. I know that's a complex issue because of people in countries not to have a freedom of speech is a restriction. It's not an easy thing to police because it can be worldwide. We just need to make a stand on everything to say racism is not acceptable."

Related items

  • Garvey Maceo overpowers Munro College 3-0 in daCosta Cup quarterfinal encounter Garvey Maceo overpowers Munro College 3-0 in daCosta Cup quarterfinal encounter

    Garvey Maceo placed one foot in the semi-final of the ISSA/Wata daCosta Cup after a commanding 3-0 victory over Munro College in their Group B quarterfinal contest at Glenmuir High on Wednesday.

    Garvey Maceo secured three crucial points courtesy of goals from Rushawn Whyte (74th), Omarian O’Brian (78th), and Rakeesh Jones (90+2), as they asserted their dominance in a game marked by missed chances, thrilling attacks, and at times, some good glovework by Jason Williams in goal for Munro College.

    With the win, Garvey Maceo, dubbed the ‘Cubanz’ took control of Group B on four points, two points ahead of Central High and Ocho Rios High, who played out a 1-1 stalemate in the other fixture. By virtue of that, Garvey Maceo only require a point in their final contest against Ocho Rios High to confirm their semi-final berth.

    It is for this reason that Head coach Lester Hibbert was beaming with delight at the outcome.

    “It was an excellent performance; we are here for a reason so it is just for us to now go back to the training pitch, refocus and work hard again. The boys came out and they did excellent because they wanted this so going forward people will see what Garvey Maceo is all about,” Hibbert said.

    It was a relentless display of control and attacking prowess by Garvey Maceo from the outset, as they were more aggressive and constantly challenged Munro’s backline.

    In fact, they should have won by a wider margin as they created a string of early chances, but the finishes eluded them at that point.

    In the 32nd minute, Everald Swaby offered a glimpse of Garvey Maceo’s intent when he dismissed his marker and let loose a powerful strike that forced Munro’s custodian Jason Williams into a crucial save at the near post.

    That would be one of several moments where Williams proved vital in goal, as he stood tall against a flurry of Garvey Maceo attacks.

    With the scoreline being goalless at the break, Garvey Maceo picked up where they left off on the resumption and went close a minute in as Rajay McLaughlin fired off a shot that skimmed wide of the post.

    McLaughlin continued to test Munro’s defence in the 48th minute, his shot blocked by a quick-thinking defender. On the resulting corner, O’Brian’s effort eluded all and sundry and nearly found the net.

    Garvey Maceo’s siege on Munro’s goal persisted as the match wore on, and Livingston Donaldson’s close-range attempt in the 61st minute demanded another save from Williams.

    Williams again came to Munro’s rescue as he dived full stretch to deny Swaby’s powerful shot just five minutes later.

    But the breakthrough felt inevitable and it came courtesy of Whyte, who fired a well-placed shot to the far corner for his fifth goal of the campaign.

    Garvey Maceo doubled their lead four minutes later, as O’Brian, delivering his 11th goal of the season in spectacular style with a brilliant solo run that saw him glide past multiple defenders before calmly slotting the ball home.

    With Munro reeling, the Clarendon team helped themselves to another goal. A Wilton Williams cross was mishandled by the otherwise impressive Jason Williams, allowing Jones to pounce and seal the win in time added.

    Munro’s Head coach Kemar Ricketts was left disappointed but pointed out that they’ll look to bounce back in their final contest against Central High.

    “It was a disappointing performance in the second half; we wanted to get something out of the game but such is life and we just have to regroup and come again,” Ricketts noted.

    Wednesday’s results

    Garvey Maceo 3, Munro College 0

    Frome Technical 1, STETHS 3

    Central High 1, Ocho Rios High 1

    Tuesday’s Result

    Glenmuir 4, McGrath 1

  • Chelsea fight back to beat brave Celtic in Women's Champions League Chelsea fight back to beat brave Celtic in Women's Champions League

    Chelsea rallied from a goal down to see off a spirited Celtic team 2-1 in the Women's Champions League, maintaining their perfect start to life under Sonia Bompastor.

    Bompastor had led the Blues to six straight wins in the Women's Super League and masterminded triumphs over Real Madrid and Twente in Europe.

    However, her perfect record came under serious threat in Glasgow, where competition debutants Celtic led through Murphy Agnew 's 22nd-minute goal.

    She capped a lightning counter by racing in behind before slotting into the bottom-left corner, scoring Celtic's first goal in the Women's Champions League.

    However, their lead lasted just six minutes as Maika Hamano swept home Aggie Beever-Jones' cutback for the equaliser, then Ashley Lawrence powered home a rebound in the 32nd minute to complete a rapid turnaround.

    Beever-Jones was dismissed after collecting her second yellow card in stoppage time, but it did not matter to Chelsea as they made it 12 straight wins in all competitions.

    They are now three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of Group B, after the Spanish giants routed Twente 7-0 earlier on Wednesday.

     

    In Group A, Bompastor's former club Lyon posted an impressive 3-0 win at Roma to move three points clear of the Giallorosse.

    Melchie Dumornay scored twice before half-time to put the French champions in the ascendency, then Vanessa Gilles reacted quickest to a right-wing corner to prod home their third seven minutes into the second half.

    With three wins from as many matches, Lyon are three points clear of Roma and six ahead of Wolfsburg, who managed a 5-0 win over Galatasaray on Wednesday.

  • Turning the tide: Windies captain Powell cautiously optimistic about comeback in T20 series against England Turning the tide: Windies captain Powell cautiously optimistic about comeback in T20 series against England

    Though facing an uphill task in their five-match T20 series against England, West Indies captain Rovman Powell is cautiously optimistic that they can produce a comeback to not only overturn a challenging 2-0 deficit but to go all the way in the series.

    Powell’s sentiments served as a rallying cry of sorts as they stare down a must-win situation in the third encounter at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia on Thursday to keep the series alive.

    Still, Powell expressed confidence that the Caribbean setting, coupled with a few strategic changes, will bolster their fightback.

    “St. Lucia is always a good place for us. It provides an opportunity for us to play good cricket, and the wicket is generally a good one, probably the best one in the Caribbean,” Powell said in a pre-game interview.

    “The people of St Lucia always come out to support us, which is also good, and so we're looking forward to the next three games. Hopefully they can come out and support us, and we can deliver some good cricket,” he added.

    After two tough matches in Barbados, which England won by eight wickets and seven wickets, respectively, Powell emphasized the significance of a renewed focus while also pointing to the need for every player to take personal accountability heading into the crucial contest.

    “I think it’s a case of each guy reflecting on how things have gone so far from an individual perspective to see if we as individuals are bringing enough to the table, and then we try our best to try to put it together as a team. We have areas that definitely need work, but the guys are in good spirits. We had a good training session today, so we’re hoping to hit the ground running,” Powell explained.

    St Lucia is not only familiar territory but also presents a new beginning, especially with the return of key pacer Alzarri Joseph from a two-match suspension.

    Powell believes Joseph’s presence will fortify a bowling attack that has struggled in the opening games, as England easily chased down 182 and 158 in both games.

    “If you should look at our bowling department, we really needed him in those games. So, it's important for him to come and hit the straps and hit the ground running. As a bowling group, we have areas where we need to control the power play because the middle overs generally take care of themselves, and he will come to bowl some of those overs in the backend,” he shared.