Gareth Southgate defends England team’s decision to take the knee but admits he ‘alienated’ some people

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Former England manager Gareth Southgate has defended the team’s decision to take the knee during the 2020 Euros, though he admitted it “alienated” some people.

The gesture, popularised by NFL player Colin Kaepernick in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, involves players kneeling on one knee and gained prominence following George Floyd’s murder in 2020.

While widely praised, it was criticised by some as an unnecessary “political gesture,” with a section of fans booing during matches. Politicians, including Priti Patel, also condemned it.

Southgate has previously stated that the act was not aligned with Black Lives Matter specifically but symbolised a broader stand against racism. At the time, he penned an open letter to fans outlining the team’s values and expectations for the nation.

“It was a consequence of an interview I gave, where I was asked about my feelings for being English, my thoughts about what we are as a country,” he explained in an interview for Desert Island Discs.

Southgate and his players took the knee as a stand against anti-racism (PA)

“And also there was definitely the moment where we’d experienced some racism as a team, for example.

“We played away in Bulgaria, and I felt that we’d dealt with that night as well as we could as a group, the lead into it and what happened on that night.

“I felt that we supported players in a better way than we had in the past.”

He explained that the decision was not made impulsively. “Before the Euros, we had extensive discussions as a team about whether we should take the knee and the players’ views.”

However, he acknowledged that the reaction has been mixed. The team continued the gesture before subsequent matches, including during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

“Of course as many people come up to me and thank me for that we, and I, alienated people that were supportive of me prior to that.

England manager Gareth Southgate says taking a knee to highlight racial injustice has built unity within his squad (Rafal Oleksiewicz/PA) (PA Wire)

“But I felt it was an important message for young people in our country, people of all communities, because the shirt is about the whole of our country and about every community, and I think we started to connect more communities to the team than had been the case in the past.”

Southgate has previously said that the decision to take the knee was an attempt to have racism discussed more openly.

At the time he admitted he had once reprimanded England player Danny Rose without realising he had endured 90 minutes of abuse.