Richard Masters, Chief Executive of the Premier League, stated that Premier League clubs are expected to take a knee before the start of the next two rounds of matches.
This anti-racist gesture is part of the Premier League’s "Zero Tolerance to Racism" campaign, which will be prominently promoted during the men’s matches of Rounds 8 and 9.
Masters said players will perform this action in the league’s upcoming matches, adding that the gesture is not mandatory and is entirely up to individual players to decide.
"We have never forced them to do this, whether collectively or individually," Masters told Sky News.
“They had another discussion over the summer. They will indeed do this during the 'Zero Tolerance to Racism' matches. After that, we will decide whether to continue or stop. So I think they want to ensure that everything they do is effective.”
This gesture became popular in football after a white American police officer killed George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, in the US in May 2020. Since then, clubs and national teams have regularly taken a knee.
In June 2020, when the Premier League resumed after a three-month COVID-19 lockdown, players also took a knee. In August 2022, the Premier League announced that players would no longer take a knee before every match, but instead do so at "selected key moments".
This latest development comes amid debates about the effectiveness of taking a knee.
At this summer’s UEFA Women’s European Championship, England took a knee in all three group stage matches and the quarter-finals, but stopped doing so in the semi-finals and final after defender Jess Carter was subjected to racism during a match.
