Premier League clubs will stop kneeling before every match.

English Premier League soccer players said on Wednesday they will not kneel before every match next season, limiting anti-racist gestures to selected games.

“We have decided to choose key moments to kneel during the season to highlight our unity against all forms of racism,” the club’s captains said in a Premier League statement. We will continue to unite for a common cause.”

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The league said it supported the captains’ decision and would promote anti-racism messages as part of its “No Room for Racism” campaign – words that are already on players’ sleeves. are prominent.

Premier League players began kneeling at the start of every game in June 2020, when the season resumed following the Covid shutdown, a month after the killing of George Floyd in the United States.

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling to protest racial injustice in 2016, and the gesture has become a familiar sight in sports since the killing of Floyd by a US police officer.

But a number of Premier League players have said the gesture is losing its effect – and some right-wing politicians in Britain have criticized its identification with the Black Lives Matter protest movement.

Crystal Palace’s black striker Wilfried Zaha was initially dissident, labeling the gesture “humiliating” and choosing to stand instead.

Last season, Chelsea’s white defender Marcos Alonso decided to stand and point instead of wearing an anti-racism badge on his shirt sleeve.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieq3MqAhA4Q” width=”942″ height=”530″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=”allowfullscreen”></iframe> <h4>Social media insults</h4 > <p>Alonso's then-teammate Romelu Lukaku said football had to take "stronger" action in the fight against racism, with abuse of black footballers still continuing on social media.</p> <p>"Yes, we're taking it. The knee… but sometimes after the game you see another insult," Lukaku told CNN Sport in September last year. of the season, and in October and March for "racism. No Room” before match rounds.</p> <p>The captains said they would observe it before the Boxing Day fixture, on the final day of the season, and even before that. FA Cup and League Cup Finals.</p> <p>"We are committed to ending racial prejudice, and building an inclusive society with respect and equal opportunities for all". ey said in a statement.</p> <p>Sales of "No Place for Racism" sleeve badges on replica club shirts last season raised £119,000 ($145,000) in royalties for teams.</p> <p>They are, according to the statement, donating the money to designated youth clubs, with the money matched by the Premier League. Crowds at England games cheered on players as they continued to kneel, angering national team manager Gareth Southgate. That year kneeling was still a meaningful act even if it got bogged down in a "culture war-type debate."</p> <p>"It's something that's impactful," he said. "If it wasn't impactful, people wouldn't push it."</p> <p>Read allLatest news And Latest news Here