Advertisement

Bayern Munich considering collective show of solidarity for Black Lives Matter, says Joshua Kimmich

Joshua Kimmich - CHRISTOF STACHE/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Joshua Kimmich - CHRISTOF STACHE/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Joshua Kimmich says Bayern Munich have discussed showing their solidarity as a team for the Black Lives Matter movement, following the death of George Floyd.

The German international was speaking after the country’s football authorities decided against reprimanding four players – including Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho – for their on-field tributes to Floyd last weekend.

“It’s good that it’s not just one player [protesting],” Kimmich said. “Maybe it is also an option to say something as a team. Football is like a role model because normally in normal life but especially in football it is not possible that there is something like racism. We are one world, one club, one football team. It doesn’t matter if you are black or white. We, as footballers, like with Sancho, have a lot of power to reach other people, to be role models and to say something. What we say to people outside gives us a big chance to make a statement.”

Players from Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Leicester City have all ‘taken the knee’ in a show of support, while there have been messages from numerous other players, after Floyd died when a white police officer, who has since been charged with his knee, held him down by pressing a knee down on his neck. The incident has led to mass protests, first in the United States, and demands for change.

At the weekend Sancho took off his shirt, after scoring, to reveal a T-shirt displaying the message “Justice for George Floyd”. His Dortmund team-mate, Achraf Hakimi, did the same while Marcus Thuram took a knee after scoring for Borussia Mönchengladbach and Schalke midfielder Weston McKennie wore an armband.

The DFB announced it would examine all four tributes but has now released a statement saying there will be no action against any of the players while there are plans to commemorate Floyd’s death in upcoming fixtures. In England the Football Association has already indicated it will not sanction any anti-discrimination protest when games resume.

Kimmich, 25, said the Bayern players had talked about the issue and added: “We discussed it and maybe we can do something. We maybe have to do something because we cannot give something like this a place…As a football player you have a big power in this world. My opinion is we should feel this responsibility and say something like Sancho did.”