Tottenham Hotspur's Bethany England and Manchester United's Elisabeth Terland take the knee before the match
Credit: Reuters photo
Tottenham Hotspur women have decided they will no longer take the knee before kickoff in the Women's Super League, with captain Bethany England saying on Sunday that the anti-racism gesture has lost its impact as prejudice persists in football.
The North London side opted to stand rather than kneel during Black History Month, when teams were given the choice to take the knee before matches.
"As players, we have chosen to not take the knee before kickoff this afternoon. Instead, we will stand up against racism," England said in a statement ahead of the home clash against Brighton & Hove Albion.
"I have spoken to my teammates at length, and we agree that taking the knee no longer feels meaningful. We are still seeing prejudice and racism, and there is so much more that everyone should be doing.
"This is not a tick box - this is people's lives, people's feelings. It needs to change."
Instead of kneeling, the club skipper said players would wear t-shirts during warmup to carry their anti-racism message. They wore a t-shirt which read "Spurs against racism" ahead of Sunday's game.
"This is our way of making a stand that this isn't acceptable, we stand with those who are still being subjected to such horrific abuse," she added.
"We stand together against racism."
The decision mirrors a similar move by the England women's team, who stopped taking the knee after defender Jess Carter was the target of online racist abuse during this year's European Championship.
Police eventually made arrests in relation to abusive social media messages sent to Carter.