Gareth Southgate condemns fans who booed England players taking a knee
The jeers at kick-off were audible before being drowned out by applause at the Riverside Stadium
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Gareth Southgate condemned the supporters who booed players as they took a knee ahead of England’s 1-0 victory against Austria in their first Euro 2020 warm-up.
Around 7,000 fans were in attendance at Riverside Stadium for the first of England’s two warm-up games and loud jeers were audible before being drowned out by the applause of other supporters.
FOLLOW LIVE: Latest Euro 2020 news as England await Alexander-Arnold injury update
It was the first time England’s players have taken the knee in front of a home crowd after Southgate held discussions with the squad in March over whether they wanted to continue making the gesture.
Southgate said he was disappointed in those responsible and reiterated that the gesture is not associated with any political movement.
“I did hear it,” Southgate said after England’s victory. “It is not something on behalf of our black players that I wanted to hear, because it feels as though it is a criticism of them,” said Southgate.
“I think we have got a situation where some people seem to think it is a political stand that they don’t agree with. That is not the reason the players are doing it. We are supporting each other.
“So, I was pleased that was drowned out by the majority of the crowd, but we can’t deny the fact that it happened.
“I think the most important thing for our players to know is that all their team-mates, all the staff, are fully supportive.
“I think the majority of people understand it. I think some people aren’t quite understanding the message, and I suppose we are seeing that across a number of football grounds at the moment.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments