The Queens Park Rangers players took a knee before kick-off, while their opponents did not
QPR players celebrated scoring against Millwall by taking a knee at The Den.
QPR midfielders Ilias Chair and Bright Osayi-Samuel were seen going down on to one knee and raising a fist after Chair broke the deadlock during Tuesday night’s Championship clash.
QPR celebration at millwall…. pic.twitter.com/yZs4mTve7f
— Craig Sibbald (@Craig_Sibbald) December 8, 2020
On Saturday, Millwall fans had booed their own players for undertaking the anti-racism gesture.
Before Tuesday night’s game, the Millwall fans applauded as both sets of players held up an anti-racism banner. The Queens Park Rangers players then took a knee before kick-off, while their opponents did not.
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 club announced it was reversing that decision.
“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.
