Players will link arms at tonight’s Millwall game after fans booed them for taking the knee and associating with the ‘extremely political’ Black Lives Matter group.
This evening’s clash at the Den in South London against QPR is the first game since crowds berated the team at last Saturday’s Derby fixture.
As players dropped to the ground ahead of kick-off, they were confronted with furious hollering and jeers from the stands.
Millwall announced players would instead link arms in a ‘show of solidarity for football’s fight against discrimination’
But some QPR players are expected to take the knee just before 8pm tonight, which the West London club recently stopped doing amid concerns the action had become ‘diluted’.
Millwall said it was ‘dismayed and saddened’ by last weekend’s behaviour and warned anybody found guilty of racial abuse would be handed a lifetime ban.
Yet players are braced for repeated hostility tonight after supporters defended the actions of the hecklers, who were supposedly lashing out at the BLM movement.
It comes after Millwall fans booed players taking the knee before their game against Derby
Some QPR players are expected to take the knee tonight, which the West London club scrapped amid concerns the action had become ‘diluted’. Pictured: Queens Park Rangers’ Ilias Chair (left) takes a knee in November
Players from both clubs took a knee before kick-off as part of the on going fight against racism
Some QPR players are expected to take the knee, which the West London club has not done since the start of the season amid concerns the action had become ‘diluted’
A statement from the Millwall Supporters’ Club on Sunday said ‘We fervently believe that the motives of those behind the booing were not racist.’
It added: ‘Anyone who believes it was a racist act should read the views of those who booed and see they were doing it in reaction to the war memorials and statues of (Winston) Churchill defaced by the BLM organisation and the extreme political views they hold and for which “taking the knee” is associated with.’
The BLM movement, which has snowballed in support in the wake of George Floyd’s death, has been accused of straying beyond its anti-racism origins and becoming a brazen left-wing organisation which calls to defund the police.
Cabinet minister George Eustice waded into the row on Sunday and stressed that BLM is a political movement.
He told Sky News: ‘My personal view is that Black Lives Matter, capital B, L and M, is actually a political movement that is different to what most of us believe in, which is standing up for racial equality.
‘Each individual can take their own choices about how they reflect this. I know a number of people feel quite strongly and have taken that approach.’
The FA have now launched an investigation into what happened at the Den on the weekend
The BLM movement, which has snowballed in support in the wake of George Floyd’s death, has been accused of straying beyond its anti-racism origins and becoming a brazen left-wing organisation. Pictured: Protesters in Notting Hill in west London for an anti-racism demonstration on August 30
Football players are now privately discussing walking off the pitch if their pre-game gestures are booed, sources told Sportsmail.
Watford captain Troy Deeney publicly said he would have no issue abandoning the match if faced racism.
He told talkSport: ‘When they boo, I’ll still be there. But if it gets to that line of racial things being said to me or my players, we’ve already had a conversation about what happens. We walk, simple.’
Tonight the teams will also hold up an anti-racism banner, and Millwall will have the Kick It Out logo on the front of their shirts.
The club said in a statement: ‘Players from Millwall and Queens Park Rangers will stand arm-in-arm with each other in a show of solidarity for football’s fight against discrimination ahead of kick-off at The Den on Tuesday night.’
It added: ‘Millwall believe that this gesture, which the club hopes to repeat with other visiting teams in the coming weeks and months, will help to unify people throughout society in the battle to root out all forms of discrimination.’
It continued: ‘QPR have informed Millwall that a selection of their players wish to take the knee as a way of showing their support for anti-discrimination efforts – a gesture which the club respects and it firmly asks all those in attendance to do likewise.’
Millwall also said they had started an ‘audit of board members, staff, volunteers and participants as part of an ongoing commitment towards equality, diversity and inclusion’.
The club added that a ‘new widespread and multi-faceted anti-discrimination strategy’ would include ‘the formation of an equality, diversity and inclusion code of practice to cover departments throughout the club’s activities and recruitment processes.’
QPR, which stopped taking the knee in September amid concerns the action had become ‘diluted’, also released a statement ahead of the game.
Chief executive Lee Hoos said: ‘We have always been at the forefront of encouraging equality and diversity while tackling discrimination in all its forms.
‘Our initial approach to this particular situation was for all our players to take the knee in a show of solidarity.
‘However, following a series of discussions with Millwall, as well as internal conversations involving myself, director of football Les Ferdinand, manager Mark Warburton and the entire first team squad, it was agreed that standing shoulder to shoulder with our opposition players would be a more powerful response.
‘On top of this, some of our players wish to take the knee and we fully support this action.
A statement from the FA earlier on Monday said: ‘The FA can confirm that investigations are under way into crowd-related incidents at both The Den and JobServe Community Stadium on Saturday 5 December 2020.
‘Observations have been sought from all of the relevant parties and they will have until Thursday 10 December 2020 to provide their respective responses.’