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Premier League players' unity over taking knee in doubt after Brentford's promotion

Premier League players' unity over taking knee on verge of collapse after Brentford promotion - NMC POOL
Premier League players' unity over taking knee on verge of collapse after Brentford promotion - NMC POOL

Brentford are on the verge of becoming the first Premier League club to refuse to take the knee next season.

Amid an increasingly-toxic divide over the gesture – one which threatens to overshadow England’s European Championship campaign – the unity that has seen almost all top-flight players performing it is close to being broken.

Brentford, who were promoted to the world’s richest league after winning the Championship play-off final, stopped taking the knee in February, stating it was no longer having an impact.

The Telegraph has been told that, barring a major squad overhaul, it is highly unlikely they would resume doing so next season.

As previously revealed by The Telegraph, discussions over whether other Premier League clubs continue to take the knee are set to take place as close as possible to the start of the new campaign.

Brentford were one of a number of English Football League teams to stop performing the gesture last term following talks led by their senior black players.

The squad said at the time: “This decision has come after lengthy discussions as a group. We have been taking a knee before games since June but, like many of our fellow players at other clubs, no longer believe that this is having an impact. We believe we can use our time and energies to promote racial equality in other ways.

“As a group we are fully behind and proud of Brentford’s desire to become the most inclusive club in the country and the drive towards equality under the #BeeTogether banner. We have experienced racist abuse first hand and have also seen some appalling comments made to other players past and present. There is a clear need to continue to push for an end to all discrimination and, as players, we will be part of that at Brentford FC, in football in general and in the wider community.”

Ivan Toney, the club’s leading goalscorer, later explained the squad’s stance in an interview with talkSPORT, saying it had been down to a lack of action taken to combat racism.

“Everybody knows it’s not getting any better, it’s actually getting worse,” he said.

“You hear about it for a few days, it’s all out there in the papers, it’s on Twitter or whatever – then two days later, back to normal and nothing gets done.”

He added: “It’s kind of a boring cycle that we’re in. Whether it’s people on Twitter writing whatever rubbish, or being brave over a computer, nothing happens and they feel comfortable because they know nothing is going to happen.”

Shortly after Brentford stopped taking the knee, Wilfried Zaha became the first Premier League player to do so, citing similar reasons.

The return of crowds to football has seen players booed by spectators for taking the knee, including during England’s Euro 2020 warm-up matches against Austria and Romania.

Fans ignored repeated pleas by Gareth Southgate and his players not to jeer the pre-match ritual, which its advocates insist is a show of support for racial equality but its critics claim is tantamount to an endorsement of the more radical policies of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Premier League declined to comment on Brentford’s likely refusal to take the knee but the Telegraph has been told it fully supports the right of individuals not to do so.