He has not taken the knee in any of Chelsea’s six league games this season
Marcos Alonso has become the latest Premier League footballer to stop taking the knee before matches, claiming the gesture has lost some of its impact.
Fans began to raise questions about his stance on the matter when he appeared to shun the gesture ahead of Chelsea’s home win against Aston Villa, for which he was captain, when he only half-heartedly leant downwards while his teammates took the knee.
The Spain international claims to be fully against racism, saying he is “against every type of discrimination.”
“I just prefer to put my finger to the badge where it says no to racism, like they do in some other sports and football in other countries.
“I prefer to do it this way and, of course, to say very clearly that I am against racism and I respect everybody,” he added.
The Chelsea man also revealed that he did not consult any of his black teammates who have been subjected to racist abuse before making his decision not to partake in the gesture, claiming they are all a big family.
“No, we haven’t talked about it,” Alonso admitted to reporters.
“We are in the changing room and we are like a family. I have a very good relationship with everyone, I love everyone and up to now we haven’t talked about it. I don’t think there is a need to, but, of course, if I have to speak to anyone, I will say the same thing I just told you and I don’t think there will be any problems.”
He repeated his desire to point to the ‘no to racism’ badge on his sleeve rather than take the knee but did not explain why it would theoretically be more impactful than kneeling in solidarity with his teammates.
