Boris Johnson wants England fans to “get behind” the team after supporters booed players for taking the knee in protest at racial injustice.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman would not condemn those who booed players but urged them to be “respectful”.
Asked whether the Prime Minister is refusing to criticise supporters who boo the gesture, the spokesman said: “No… the Prime Minister is supporting the England football team and wants them to succeed, and he wants the whole country to get behind them in that endeavour in this tournament.”
Dr Joanne Hill, an expert on racism and inequality in football from the University of Bedfordshire, does not believe taking the knee should stop because it is ‘political’.
She told the PA news agency: “Every aspect of our lives is political – we are never outside of political issues and broader social issues, we don’t leave them at the door when we go into a sporting format. These things are part of our lives, they are woven into our identities. We don’t leave those things behind.”
Hill says the stance should continue, adding: “It may come across as capitulating to the people who have criticised it (if taking the knee had stopped after Austria game). There are questions like ‘when do we end? When do we stop seeing taking the knee at the beginning of a game?’
“Maybe the response is; we’ll see that when we no longer see racist incidents aimed at players and fans within the sport and until that point the gesture is still meaningful.”
