Sports News | England and Wales Players Take a Knee in World Cup Match
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. The players for both England and Wales took a knee before their final World Cup group game.
Al Rayyan (Qatar), Nov 30 (AP) The players for both England and Wales took a knee before their final World Cup group game.
The teams made the gesture on Tuesday as a sign of solidarity in the fight against discrimination.
England and Wales were among seven European nations that had intended to have their captains wear "One Love' armbands in support of inclusivity at the tournament in Qatar. But they had to abandon those plans after FIFA threatened sporting sanctions for any captain that wore them.
England coach Gareth Southgate said his players would take a knee at the start of the tournament. The team did it at all three Group B matches in Qatar. Wales only did it Tuesday.
"We feel this is the biggest and we think it's a strong statement that will go around the world for young people, in particular, to see that inclusivity is very important," Southgate said.
Additionally, the UK's first openly gay sports minister attended the game and wore the armband.
Stuart Andrew said he decided to wear it in support of inclusivity at sporting events.
"Sport has the power to unite, inspire," Andrew wrote on Twitter, adding it was "vital" that all sporting events are open and inclusive. AP
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)