Crystal Palace’s Ivorian international striker Wilfried Zaha became the first Premier League footballer to not kneel before kick-off on Saturday, denouncing the trivialization of this gesture in support of the anti-racist movement ‘Black Lives Matter’.
Zaha had already expressed on several occasions that he considered that this gesture had lost all its symbolism, but it was this Saturday, before the start of the match of the 28th day against West Bromwich Albion, when he went to the act and remained standing when the rest of footballers and members of the refereeing body put one knee to the ground.
“My decision to stay on my feet before kickoff was public knowledge for several weeks. There is no good or bad decision, but for me personally, I have a feeling that putting a knee on the ground has become something that simply It is part of the protocol before a match, “the player deplored in a statement posted on his social networks.
“It is this moment, that we kneel or stand does not change anything, some of us continue to be insulted,” he added.
In mid-February, Zaha announced his intention to stop making this gesture that has become common since the Premier League was resumed after the first lockdown due to the pandemic, last June, to demonstrate support for the fight against inequalities. racial.
The gesture was popularized by San Francisco 49ers (NFL) football player Colin Kaepernick in 2016, before the performance of the North American anthem, to denounce police violence.
“I know that there is a great work behind the scenes of the Premier League and other institutions to change things and I respect that completely, as well as the rest of those involved,” added Zaha, 28.
“I also respect my teammates and the other players who continue to put one knee on the ground,” insisted the African player, for whom the solution is “to improve education at school and for the companies (owners) of social networks to act in such a way. more willful against those who insult others online, and not just footballers. “
Recently, Premier League players such as Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial or Paul Pogba were subjected to racist insults through social networks.
hap / jf / mcd / dr
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