Millwall fans booed their own players as they took a knee before kick-off
Blake Harrison, the actor who plays Neil in The Inbetweeners, has said he is “embarrassed” to be a Millwall fan.
For the first time in six months, a small number of football fans were allowed into grounds in the Football League today. At The Den, Millwall played host to Wayne Rooney’s Derby County side, but it wasn’t the former Manchester United man who grabbed the headlines.
As players took a knee before kick-off, loud boos emanated from the home supporters in attendance.
Taking a knee gained prominence as an anti-racism gesture after NFL player Colin Kaepernick did it during the national anthem.
The gesture was endorsed by football clubs across the UK following the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer, and has become a custom of the pre-match routine as football sends a ‘no room for racism’ message.
But with the return of small numbers of fans to some stadiums in tier 1 and tier 2 areas of the country, some have voiced their opposition to the gesture.
In the clip below, you can hear audible boos from the few fans in the stadium as players took the knee before kick off.
Section of crowd at Millwall vs Derby game start booing as players take a knee in support of Black Lives Matter movement
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 5, 2020
While only a minority of Millwall fans were in attendance, not all of the club’s supporters were happy with the incident.
Inbetweeners actor Blake Harrison from Peckham in South London is a lifelong Millwall fan, but he said he was “embarrassed” by the display.
Sad and embarrassed to be a Millwall fan today.
— blake harrison (@blakeharrison23) December 5, 2020
Posting on Twitter, the 35-year-old actor wrote: “Sad and embarrassed to be a Millwall fan today.”
Millwall went on to lose the game 1-0, Derby’s Jason Knight grabbing the only goal of the game in the 69th minute.
After the match, the FA condemned the actions of those Millwall supporters who booed the gesture.
An FA statement read: “The FA supports all players and staff that wish to take a stand against discrimination in a respectful manner, which includes taking of the knee, and strongly condemns the behaviours of any spectators that actively voice their opposition to such activities.”
