“We’ll stand solidly behind the cause and our players will take a knee.”
Queens Park Rangers players will take a knee in a show of “solidarity” before their game at Millwall on Tuesday night.
A small number of Millwall fans were heard loudly booing the anti-racism gesture before their match against Derby County on Saturday.
QPR has previously stopped taking a knee after director of football Les Ferdinand said that the act had become “diluted”. However, following the actions of the Millwall fans, the team will take it up again for their Championship clash at The Den on Tuesday evening.
“In light of certain events, we’ll stand solidly behind the cause and our players will take a knee,” QPR manager Mark Warburton said ahead of the game.”
“Tomorrow night we will show solidarity because we will not tolerate any form of discrimination. It’s the right thing to do, everyone can see that.”
“The players have come to me and told me their thoughts and I absolutely agree with them. Going forward, this club is so proactive in this area and this is one of the most diverse clubs in the country. It’s not about token gestures, it’s about positive action.”
“What Les said, we agree 100 per cent with. Using the NHS clap for carers as an example, it was a fantastic cause but it ran its course and now we move on from there.”
In September, Les Ferdinand said in a statement that “taking the knee was very powerful but we feel that impact has now been diluted,” and the QPR players stopped doing it before games.
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
The booing of the Millwall fans on Saturday has been widely condemned.
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.”
Derby County manager Wayne Rooney said that it was “really important that the vast majority of us show respect and support of each other and do not tolerate or accept the actions of a mindless few.”
