FA Cup final fans boo Chelsea and Leicester players as they take the knee before kick-off

Wembley welcomed 22,000 supporters in a pilot event by the government as it begins to ease lockdown measures

Sports Staff
Saturday 15 May 2021 12:36 EDT
Comments
Leicester’s Kelechi Iheanacho takes the knee
Leicester’s Kelechi Iheanacho takes the knee (Getty Images)

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.

Fans at Wembley for the FA Cup final between Leicester and Chelsea booed players taking the knee before kick-off.

Wembley welcomed 22,000 supporters in a pilot event by the government as it begins to ease lockdown measures.

All Premier League players bar Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha, who has chosen to stand, have been taking the knee before games this season in solidarity with a global movement to tackle social injustice and racial inequality – issues highlighted by the abuse footballer’s receive online on a constant basis including regular racist slurs.

All of the Leicester and Chelsea players and staff took the knee at the start of the game, as well as the match officials, and the gesture was greeted with a smattering of boos before the noise was drowned out by cheers as the final kicked off.

The boos appeared to come from both ends of the stadium.

You can follow Chelsea vs Leicester live here.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in