England discussing anti-racism gesture, says supervisor Gareth Southgate

England’s management crew will talk about whether or not to take a knee as an anti-racism gesture earlier than Thursday’s 2022 World Cup qualifier towards San Marino, supervisor Gareth Southgate mentioned.
The pre-match gesture has been part of England’s Premier League and lower-tier English Football League video games since soccer resumed after the COVID-19 shutdown final June.
However, some inside the recreation have mentioned the gesture is merely symbolic and now not carries any weight, whereas Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha not too long ago mentioned taking a knee earlier than matches was “degrading”.
“We’ll be unified on whatever we do and if there’s any doubt I think we would take the knee,” Southgate mentioned.
“I spoke with the management crew and requested them to speak to the remaining as a result of I feel it’s course of to listen to one another’s views.
“That’s part of how we educate ourselves in all of these different matters.”
Southgate mentioned he understood Zaha’s issues about taking a knee.
“When I listened to Zaha’s comments, I thought he spoke really well, I totally understood why he felt that wasn’t enough and that it seems to be just part of the background,” he added.
“The debate around whether we should take the knee or not or walk off a pitch or not … they’re slightly peripheral things. The core problems are racism and discrimination. We’ve got to address the deeper issues as much as make a symbolic gesture.”