England have begun all three of their 2025 European Championship matches so far by taking the knee before kick-off. They were joined by their three group-stage opponents — France, the Netherlands and Wales — in performing the anti-racism gesture before each fixture, but it is not something that has been seen at many other matches across the tournament. What is taking the knee? Taking the knee is an anti-racism gesture, designed to protest against systematic racism and police brutality towards Bl
They were joined by their three group-stage opponents — France, the Netherlands and Wales — in performing the anti-racism gesture before each fixture, but it is not something that has been seen at many other matches across the tournament.
What is taking the knee?
Taking the knee is an anti-racism gesture, designed to protest against systematic racism and police brutality towards Black people, and was popularised in football in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by a white police officer in the United States in May of that year.
Taking the knee in sport can be traced back to American football quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who did it during the traditional performance of the U.S. national anthem before an NFL game — players and coaches on the two teams usually line up to attention along opposite sides of the field for this — when with the San Francisco 49ers in September 2016. After remaining seated on the 49ers’ bench during the anthem at a game the previous month, Kaepernick had explained: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of colour.”
Why are England taking the knee at Euro 2025?
The Football Association (FA) explained England’s decision to take the knee in Switzerland this summer was “player-led but with the full support from the FA”. It said the team’s choice to do so had been communicated to UEFA, European football’s governing body and the organisation that runs the tournament. “It’s been something the team have done for several years,” the FA added.
Premier League players took the knee following football’s return from three months of Covid-19 enforced lockdown in June 2020 and Women’s Super League (WSL) teams then did the same during that competition’s 2020-21 season. While the Premier League announced in August 2022 that players would stop kneeling before every match and instead “select significant moments” to do so, WSL sides have continued the practice. It is often greeted by applause from supporters in the stands.
England’s men’s side took the knee before all their matches at the delayed 2020 European Championship, which got postponed for 12 months because of the pandemic. This was both applauded and booed by sections of the England fanbase, while several prominent MPs from the then ruling Conservative Party voiced their opposition to it, including the home secretary at that time, Priti Patel.
Team GB’s women’s football team, whose squad consisted solely of England players, confirmed their intention to perform the gesture at the similarly-delayed 2020 Olympic Games hosted by Tokyo, Japan that same summer.
Explaining the decision, head coach Hege Riise said: “The players and staff have been taking the knee at club and international level for over a year now and we were all united in our decision to continue doing whatever we can to raise awareness of racism and discrimination in all its forms, standing in unity and solidarity with all those whose lives are affected.
“We are clear that taking the knee is an important symbol of peaceful protest against discrimination, injustice and inequality.”
England’s women have continued to take the knee since, including at the 2022 European Championship and the following year’s World Cup.
Which other countries have taken the knee at Euro 2025?
Taking the knee was seen frequently at the Euros in England three years ago, with teams including the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and Austria all doing it, too. Germany and England both took the knee before facing one another in the final at Wembley.
This summer, France, the Netherlands and Wales all joined opponents England in taking the knee in those three group-stage matches. However, these sides did not do it in their other Group D fixtures against one another. A spokesperson for Sweden confirmed to The Athletic that they will also take a knee with England before playing England in the quarter-finals today.
Both host nation Switzerland and opponents Iceland took the knee before their Group A fixture on July 6, but it has not been commonplace at matches during the tournament.
Teams must let UEFA know beforehand if they intend to take the knee and it is then incorporated into the ‘running order’ for the match, the governing body says.
What is the Lionesses’ history with racism and discrimination?
The history of English women’s football in terms of racial issues is a complex one.
In 2017, the FA apologised to forward Eni Aluko and midfielder Drew Spence after Mark Sampson, manager of the women’s national team between 2013 and 2017, was found to have made racially discriminatory remarks towards the two Black players in two separate incidents.
A number of England players voiced their support for Sampson before his dismissal, with members of the team running to the touchline to celebrate a goal by Nikita Parris against Russia with him in September 2017 amid the allegations. Parris, who is also Black, publicly apologised to Aluko in 2020.
Women’s football in England has also been criticised for its lack of diversity, particularly over the past decade. There were six Black and mixed-race players called up for the 2007 World Cup by the team’s Black manager Hope Powell, but just three in the 2022 European Championship-winning squad, by which time current boss Sarina Wiegman was in charge. Four players selected by Wiegman for this tournament are Black or mixed race — Khiara Keating, Jess Carter, Lauren James and Michelle Agyemang.
The lack of diversity is something the team themselves have acknowledged.
“Within the squad, this is an important issue and we’re all aware of it,” England captain Leah Williamson told BBC Sport in 2022. “There’s nothing that we can do right now to change it.”
She added: “We want to make it as inclusive as possible. We don’t ever want anybody to think it’s not their game because of the way they look or the colour of their skin.”
Defender Lotte Wubben-Moy also told the BBC: “I’m not going to sit here and say I feel any hardship. I’m white, I have such a massive privilege and I acknowledge that, which is part of the reason why I feel like I have such a responsibility also to push for more change to allow young, Black, Asian, any child to be able to see someone like them playing football.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
England, Women's Soccer, Women's Euros
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Category: General Sports
