Euro 2020: Does England defender Harry Maguire take the knee?

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Some people thought they spotted Harry Maguire refusing to take the knee during England's Euro 2020 quarter-final with Ukraine - but there isn't actually any evidence for this

Harry Maguire
(Image credit: PA)

Harry Maguire has been the subject of social media rumour during Euro 2020 - for seemingly not taking the knee during England's 4-0 drubbing of Ukraine in Rome last weekend.

At the start of the game, the England team were seen to take a knee, as they do before every game, with Ukraine kicking off.

In the centre of defence, Harry Maguire appeared to be standing up during the action, sparking conversation about whether he refusing to join his team-mates or whether he'd merely just stood up before the others.

The moment was clear to see from the highlights - but there was little context of what had happened before, leading up to this moment. 

While it appeared that Maguire didn't join the rest of his team-mates, however, Maguire very clearly did take a knee with the rest of the players a moment later.

Ukraine seemed to forget or not realise that the England side were about to take a knee, and kicked off as normal when the whistle went – leading to the Three Lions having to do it again. Maguire simply reacted to the Ukraine players beginning the match, then did take the knee the second time around. 

England

(Image credit: BBC Sport)

Harry Maguire has never spoken out against taking a knee. The Manchester United captain has never been spotted refusing to do so before and has even spoken out about racial injustice in the past.

"We, the players, stand together with the singular objective of eradicating racial prejudice wherever it exists, to bring about a global society of inclusion, respect, and equal opportunities for all, regardless of their colour or creed," he tweeted last summer with an image containing the Black Lives Matter slogan.

Harry MAguire, England

(Image credit: Getty)

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Mark White
Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.