England and Scotland players take the knee ahead of kick-off

England v Scotland – UEFA Euro 2020 – Group D – Wembley Stadium
(Image credit: Nick Potts)

Players and staff from both England and Scotland took the knee ahead of their Euro 2020 clash.

While the England squad have seen the gesture booed by a minority of supporters of late, Scotland have been standing against racism before games.

Having initially said they would not take the knee, the visitors relented and – despite both sets of supporters booing their rivals’ national anthems – the reaction to the anti-racism gesture was the most positive of recent games, with a cacophony of noise drowning out barely audible booing.

England v Scotland – UEFA Euro 2020 – Group D – Wembley Stadium

The anti-racism gesture received a largely positive response (Mike Egerton/PA)

The England team knelt ahead of kick-off in their Euro 2020 victory over Croatia on Sunday, where a pocket of fans within Wembley continued to boo the anti-racism stance.

It followed more vociferous jeering in the two warm-up matches at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium and despite calls from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, England boss Gareth Southgate and the Football Association not to react negatively to the gesture.

England’s players have insisted they will continue to take the knee despite the protestations of some and that the message should not get lost.

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