Millwall and QPR players linked arms and held aloft a banner which said 'Inequality' with the 'In' crossed out; QPR players and match officials take a knee ahead of kick-off; Gary Rowett: Intelligent, passionate Mahlon Romeo should be applauded
Wednesday 9 December 2020 10:54, UK
Millwall fans applauded as their players remained standing and QPR players took a knee ahead of their Championship fixture at The Den on Tuesday night.
In contrast to Saturday's game against Derby, there were no boos heard as QPR players and match officials took a knee. Millwall's Mahlon Romeo raised his fist but no players from the home side opted to take a knee.
Both sets of players also linked arms and held aloft a banner which said 'Inequality' with the 'In' crossed out, as a show of solidarity against racism and other social injustices.
Millwall also wore Kick It Out's logo on their matchday shirts in place of one of their main sponsors, Huski Chocolate.
Elias Chair took a knee and raised his fist in celebration alongside Bright Osayi-Samuel after giving the visitor's the lead in the 53rd minute.
His gesture was met by a few audible boos from those in attendance at the Den.
Ahead of the game, Millwall released a statement reminding fans of their "duty and responsibility" to be supportive of gestures made by either set of players in the fight against discrimination with the "eyes of the world" on the club.
Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman says Millwall scored a public relations own goal by including the phrase "they want us to fail" in the statement made before the game.
He said: "I nearly fell off my chair at the final bit of that letter. I wanted to talk about the difficulties the hierarchy of this club have had, the fires they've had to put out.
"They've been trying hard in the community. I think they've scored a PR own goal. I like the idea of handing out a letter to fans - the eyes of the world are on them - but suggesting people want them to fail? That's a silly thing for the club to say in an official capacity."
Millwall were allocated 2,000 tickets for Tuesday night's game. The fans permitted to attend against QPR are the same supporters who were in attendance for Saturday's game against Derby.
A section of those fans booed as Derby and Millwall took a knee in support of the fight against racial injustice at the start of their match at the weekend.
The FA confirmed on Monday that it is investigating the matter.
Elsewhere, in the EFL Trophy match between Leyton Orient and Bristol Rovers on Tuesday, both sets of players were applauded by fans after taking a knee before kick-off.
Cheltenham's tie against Portsmouth kicked off without any gestures before kick-off, as they have done at their games so far this season.
When asked about the emotional toll his players had taken on recently, Millwall boss Gary Rowett highlighted Romeo and why he should be applauded for conducting himself intelligently and passionately over the past few days.
"Let's just take the likes of Mahlon (Romeo), for example. We were sat in a meeting until six o'clock in the evening yesterday. I'd imagine there's a lot of emotional strain that has been on the last three or four days," he told Sky Sports Football.
"I'm proud of him, not only for the way he spoke intelligently and passionately within that meeting but also his response tonight. I think he's contributed, for me, a far more positive message and a far more proactive message and a far more positive evening that we had on Saturday. I think he should be applauded for that.
"The knee was a gesture - and continues to be a gesture - that people choose to take or choose not to take. I don't think the spotlight can solely be on that. We've made a stance as a club to try to be proactive and to try to champion what we're doing and try to actually change things.
"There's too much 'do people take a knee or don't people take a knee' and then no one does anything about it. We want to try and do something about it. We want to be proactive and, for me, both clubs, but, in particular our club, should be applauded - in my opinion - for that stance."
