Fans at Millwall vs Derby on Saturday booed as players took knee before kick-off in support of fight against racial injustice; Millwall 'dismayed and saddened' by incident; Rooney: "I witnessed disgraceful and mindless behaviour by a large section of the Millwall supporters."
Monday 7 December 2020 10:53, UK
Derby interim boss Wayne Rooney has described the booing by fans as players took a knee before Millwall vs Derby on Saturday as "disgraceful and mindless".
Rooney's team won the game 1-0, but the post-match focus was very much on the supporters' actions, with the FA, EFL and anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out all releasing statements in the aftermath of the match condemning the incident.
Millwall also released a statement on Sunday morning to say they were "dismayed and saddened by events" and remain committed to being at the "forefront of football's anti-discrimination efforts".
Players, officials and staff at Premier League and EFL games have been taking a knee before kick-off since football restarted in June in order to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement for racial equality.
Posting on Twitter, Rooney said: "Yesterday I witnessed disgraceful and mindless behaviour by a large section of the Millwall supporters in the stadium.
"Prior to the match we were aware of the possibility of a planned disruptive response during the taking of the knee in support of the BLM campaign, but nothing prepared us for what we heard.
"I was proud of my players and staff for not letting the fans deter them from continuing to present a positive and important message that taking the knee immediately before a game sends. The professionalism of the players on both sides throughout the game was a credit to our profession, after such an incident.
"On behalf of Derby County Football Club I want it to be clear to everyone associated with the club that we represent all sectors of our community regardless of colour, gender or sexuality. Fans being allowed back in to stadiums is vital for the wellbeing of everybody involved in our sport from fans to players to chairmen and owners.
"It is therefore really important that the vast majority of us show respect and support of each other and do not tolerate or accept the actions of the mindless few."
Millwall defender Mahlon Romeo accused the club's supporters of "spreading hatred".
Saturday's match at The Den represented the first time Millwall supporters had been able to attend a home game since the coronavirus pandemic saw the Championship halted in March.
In an impassioned interview after the game, Romeo, a London-born black player who has represented Antigua and Barbuda at international level, explained how the reaction of the club's supporters had affected him.
Romeo told the South London Press: "Today's game, to me now, has become irrelevant. The fans have been let back in - which the whole team was looking forward to. But in society there is a problem - and that problem is racism.
"The fans who have been let in today have personally disrespected not just me but the football club. And what the football club and the community stand for. What they've done is booed and condemned a peaceful gesture which was put in place to highlight, combat and stop any discriminatory behaviour and racism. That's it - that's all that gesture is.
"And the fans have chosen to boo that, which for the life of me I can't understand. It has offended me and everyone who works for this club - the players and the staff.
"I'm speaking on behalf of myself here - not any of the other players - I want to make that very clear. This is the first time I feel disrespected. Because you have booed and condemned a peaceful gesture which - and it needs repeating - was put in place to highlight, combat and tackle any discriminatory behaviour and racism in general."
In their statement released on Sunday, Millwall also said club officials will meet with Kick It Out and representatives from other appropriate bodies "in an attempt to use Saturday's events as a catalyst for more rapid solutions".
Troy Townsend, head of development at Kick It Out, sympathised with the "good people" at Millwall who are trying to make change, but says football as a whole must be more proactive.
"For me [the booing] has been premeditated. This is something that has been on people's chest for a very, very long time and they had the opportunity to spell it out to those players yesterday," Townsend said.
"We've got to continue to call this out and we've got to start to be proactive in our actions, because the impact of what happened yesterday goes far beyond the booing incident.
"I was in conversations with Millwall last night and I feel for the good people at the club who I've worked with over the past year and a bit - Steve Kavanagh, the chairman, and people on the board. I know this is not them and Steve was hurting.
"They are trying to change around the history of this football club and it's never going to be easy because their fanbase lets them down continuously.
"The players' message went out on Thursday, but I actually do feel that the club should have put something out yesterday, to stand by those players who were hurt, to stand by their staff who are equally as hurt."
Show Racism the Red Card chief executive Ged Grebby told Sky Sports News that players should keep taking the knee, while clubs must consider banning orders if the issue persists.
Grebby said: "We want players to continue to take the knee because it's about keeping the anti-racism movement at the top of the political agenda. Ironically the Millwall fans that did the booing have actually done that, they've made sure anti-racism is back at the top of the agenda.
"We would now urge the players not to back down and keep taking the knee. There was a discussion with Les Ferdinand and other key players that we want to see action, of course we want to see change, but symbolic gestures do have their role to play.
"[Striking and walking off the pitch] are certainly two options the players' union and the PFA need to discuss, but we'll be discussing with Millwall and other clubs, there are a lot more options than that. I think stronger statements by the clubs, making it clear this time that if fans do boo, and I'm sure clubs will consider banning orders.
"We wouldn't normally do that for fans booing but if it's pre-meditated we need to look at that."
In the aftermath of Millwall's match, the FA released a statement to support players and staff taking the knee and strongly condemn the "behaviours of any spectators that actively voice their opposition to such activities".
Edleen John, FA Director for International, Corporate Affairs & EDI, told Super Sunday Matchday: "From an FA standpoint and a personal standpoint we absolutely respect the individual choice of players to protest against discrimination in ways that are respectful, and in taking the knee that is what they are doing.
"As this relates to the fans and spectators, we as the FA do not have jurisdiction over those individuals unless they're also players in the game, but we of course do and can apply sanctions to clubs and we have done that in the past in clubs including Millwall, where the focus is on putting together an action plan to drive change.
"That doesn't always focus on monetary sanctions. It can look at increasing training for stewards, it can look at matchday operations and what needs to be improved as part of that process, and can also include things like increasing CCTV to make sure situations where there is discriminatory abuse or booing can actually be caught and therefore lead to subsequent charges.
"For us it's about a journey, learning and being proactive in terms of how we make sure clubs are holding their spectators and fans to account, but making sure clubs also have all of those practices, policies and equipment in place to do that effectively."
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