While England will still be taking the knee, Croatia will not
England has stated officially that they will continue to take the knee throughout the Euro 2020 tournament, despite the booing from fans and online criticism. However, the Three Lions’ first opponent Croatia will not take the knee.
Manager Gareth Southgate, presenter James O’Brien, Rio Ferdinand, and Gary Nevile have all spoken vocally about the show of support.
As reported in The Athletic, Croatia has made it clear that they do not intend to take the knee, though the team spokesman Tomislav Pacak has declined to answer the matter directly. Instead, he has urged the discussion to take place at the press conference before Sunday’s match.
Despite not overtly confirming that they will not take a knee, Pacak has confirmed this with Croatian media. He cited that UEFA‘s protocols did not mention taking the knee and that the governing body is against introducing politics into sport.
Croatia players will not take a knee before kick-off in their game against England on Sunday, according to @TheAthleticUK ðŸ‡ðŸ‡· pic.twitter.com/r1UAnH2Fev
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) June 9, 2021
This should not come as an immense surprise, as Croatia did not take a knee during their friendly against Belgium.
Both Scotland and the Czech Republic have said they will discuss the stance with the players before the match. Scotland did choose to stand during a March game against Austria, while the Czech Republic opted for a different show of support. They decided instead to point to their ‘UEFA Respect’ inscription on their sleeve.
The debate over taking the knee and the significance of the gesture continues to rage on, it would seem.
