Footballers will face no punishment for anti-racism protests

The Football Association will not take disciplinary action against any player who takes a knee as part of the anti-racism protests following the death in police custody of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

It comes as Newcastle United’s American defender DeAndre Yedlin has said his grandfather is “glad” he does not currently live in the United States as he would fear for his grandson’s life “as a young black man”.

The outrage over Floyd’s death has escalated over the past week with the FA saying it will take a “common sense approach” to any protests with players also unlikely to face action if they display solidarity messages on T-shirts.

The laws of the game prohibit “any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images” but the authorities accept that supporting #BlackLivesMatter is a clear issue of anti-discrimination, which should be backed by everyone, and is not political.

In Germany, there have been warnings of sanctioning players who used goal celebrations to highlight the death of Floyd, an unarmed black man, after a white police officer held him down by pressing a knee into his neck for almost nine minutes. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has since been charged with murder and has also been sacked with the incident leading to widespread protests across America.

The England international Jadon Sancho was booked after revealing a “Justice for George Floyd” message on his T-shirt during Borussia Dortmund’s game against Paderborn at the weekend. However the caution could well have been for the removal of his shirt, which is also prohibited in England, although it appears the authorities here will be more sympathetic. If, like the Borussia Mönchengladbach striker Marcus Thuram, a player takes a knee after scoring then no action will be taken.

Newcastle United and the England football team also posted messages of support.

Taking the knee is an echo of the protest against racism by American footballer Colin Kaepernick in 2016 which many have adopted as a symbolic gesture of support. Newcastle United posted a photograph of their players taking the knee with the message “#UnitedAsOne” while Yedlin wrote about his feelings on Twitter: “A couple days after George Floyd's death, my grandfather texted me and told me he's glad that I am not living in the US right now because he would fear for my life as a young black man. As days have passed, this text from my grandfather has not been able to leave my mind.

"He was born in 1946, lived through the civil rights movement, lived through some terribly racist times in U.S. history, and now 70 years later he STILL fears for the life of his black grandchild, in the country he and his grandchild were born in, in the country his grandchild represents when he plays for the United States, in the country his grandchild represents when he's playing in England…In no way are we asking black lives to matter more than white lives, all we're asking is we are seen as equal, as more than 3/5 of a man, as humans.”

The FA’s stance endorses that of Fifa with players not being punished unless their gesture was in a deliberately provocative or violent way such as being directly in front of someone who has been charged or convicted of an offence under anti-racism rules. In a statement the FA said: “where any behaviours or gestures on the pitch that may constitute a breach of the Laws of the Game have to be assessed, they would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis with a common sense approach and understanding of their context."