Top flight captains agreed on the change
Premier League footballers’ shirts will not show the Black Lives Matter slogan in the 2020/21 season, the league have announced.
Following the death of George Floyd in America at the hands of the police, Premier League teams decided to replace players’ names with the Black Lives Matter slogan after the restart in June.
But the slogan will now be replaced with a ‘No Room For Racism’ slogan on shirt sleeves, in line with the league’s own anti-discrimination initiative.
Top flight captains were consulted over the change during a conference call on Thursday.
The league’s chief executive Richard Masters said: “We, our clubs, players and match officials have a long-standing commitment to tackling discrimination.
“Players rightly have a strong voice on this matter, which we saw last season. We have continued to talk and listen to players on this issue and will support them as well as continuing to emphasise the Premier League’s position against racism.
“Discrimination in any form, anywhere, is wholly unacceptable and No Room For Racism makes our zero-tolerance stance clear. We will not stand still on this important issue and we will continue to work with our clubs, players and partners to address all prejudiced behaviour.”
The Black Lives Matter movement has come under scrutiny from those who like the idea of anti-racism, but don’t want to actually take any action in eradicating it.
The league felt it necessary to distance itself from the organisation’s political links recently, saying it does “not endorse any political organisation or movement, nor support any group that calls for violence or condones illegal activity”.
