British Conservative MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, Lee Anderson has suggested he will be boycotting England’s European Championship campaign if the squad continue to ‘take the knee’ before kick-offs.
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Domestic football teams throughout the country have been taking a knee in a show of solidarity against racism for just over a year.
However, as the gesture continues, its sentiment appears to be drawing more and more criticism.
Some players, pundits and fans alike have suggested that the ‘taking of the knee’ has lost its message and is useless without actual change ensuing.
Following the 2020-21 domestic campaign concluding last month, football fans all around the country are now preparing for this summer’s delayed Euros.
Set to kick off on Friday, Gareth Southgate will be hoping his Three Lions can bring home the goods in approximately four weeks time.
However, in the build-up to his squad’s international tournament, Southgate has been forced to play two pre-tournament friendlies.
Both matches against Austria and later Romania saw the Three Lions ‘take the knee’ and despite there being a debate over whether or not they should continue once the Euros begin, the gesture continues to raise eyebrows.
The latest high-profile name to weigh in on the debate is MP Anderson, who took to his Facebook to deliver a message, which read: “The FA and the England football team have made a big mistake in supporting the taking of the knee before football matches ahead of the European Championships.
“The FA, Premier League and footballers now run the risk of becoming like the Labour Party and that is having nothing in common with their traditional supporters.
“All forms of racism are vile and should be stamped out – but this is not the way.
“For the first time in my life I will not be watching my beloved England team whilst they are supporting a political movement whose core principles aim to undermine our very way of life.”