FERW has written to FIFA, jointly signed with a senior backbench MP, inviting it to pursue a new and simple policy. It has the potential to remove the controversy around the act of ‘taking the knee’ while allowing players the opportunity to express their concerns.
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Stop ‘divisive’ taking the knee at World Cup, urges senior Tory
Sir John Hayes, former Home Office minister, suggests tournament organisers should arrange other anti-racism gestures instead
Daily Telegraph, 11 November 2022
Taking the knee is “divisive” and FIFA should encourage players not to do it at the World Cup, a senior Tory MP has said.
Sir John Hayes, a former Home Office minister, urged tournament organisers to arrange other anti-racism gestures instead.
In a letter to world football’s governing body, he called for a “unifying” message free from “political controversies”.
The veteran backbencher is a close ally of Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, who has criticised police for taking the knee.
He was caught up in the scandal around her resignation when she sent an official document to him from her private email.
Taking the knee is “divisive” and FIFA should encourage players not to do it at the World Cup, a senior Tory MP has said.
Sir John Hayes, a former Home Office minister, urged tournament organisers to arrange other anti-racism gestures instead.
In a letter to world football’s governing body, he called for a “unifying” message free from “political controversies”.
The veteran backbencher is a close ally of Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, who has criticised police for taking the knee.
He was caught up in the scandal around her resignation when she sent an official document to him from her private email.
In his letter, Sir John said footballers were “rightly concerned about displays of racism” both in the stands and on social media.
“They want to demonstrate their support for their teammates, and to flag up that such behaviour is simply unacceptable. One response has been the taking of the knee.
“While the motives for acknowledging shared disdain for prejudice are understandable, this is a response that is of itself implicitly divisive and so fails to unite.
“In short it emphasises and therefore exacerbates division. This is a result of the political controversies associated with parts of the wider BLM [Black Lives Matter] movement.”
Sir John said the “better alternative” would be an “approved set of banners that captains and their teams could pose behind before the start of matches”.
He added this “would be a unifying and unambiguous means of bringing everyone together against hatred”.
The senior MP signed the letter on behalf of FIFA Ethics and Regulation Watch, an independent body that scrutinises the organisation’s actions.
Gareth Southgate, England manager, has said he will hold talks with his players over whether or not they will take the knee at the start of matches.
Three Lions stars have made the gesture in 33 straight matches, but this season Premier League captains agreed to stop doing it before every game.
Wilfried Zaha, Crystal Palace winger, has described it as “degrading” and Ivan Toney, Brentford and England striker, said players were “being used as puppets”.
Taking the knee became an anti-racist gesture in the US following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer and was subsequently adopted worldwide.
But it became controversial after some linked it to the actions of the Black Lives Matter organisation, which has espoused far-Left views in the US.
FIFA bans political slogans and gestures at football matches, but has strongly backed taking the knee as an anti-racist gesture.
The global footballing body this week banned Denmark’s squad from wearing shirts emblazoned with the words “human rights for all”.
Danish players wanted to ditch their training kit sponsors to make space for messages critical of World Cup host nation Qatar.
