Taking a Knee and Flying a Rainbow Flag
June 25, 2021 — JORDY NIJENHUIS & HANNAH RICHTER
OPINION: How the Euro 2020 games are about more than just football this year
The UEFA Euro 2020 games finally opened up the borders of the European Union, however it brought with it the heightened tensions and increased divisions that this past year has faced. With racism, LGBTQ+ issues, and social inclusion at the forefront of discussions, it is no surprise that the main focus wasn’t only about the players on the pitch.
“Football is usually known for bringing people together, but for the Euro 2020 games this year, it seems to be driving people further apart.”
In the run up to the games, English football players were already taking the knee - a known symbol of standing up against racism - whilst being met with boos from the audience. Even though this act has been growing across the world since Colin Kaepernick first did so back in 2016, the booing audience at the England v Romania game seemed to disagree with the intentions behind the protest. And with Gareth Southgate confirming his players would continue to take a knee throughout the games, the audience’s boo’s have followed with it. Football is usually known for bringing people together, but for the Euro 2020 games this year, it seems to be driving people further apart.
Although a number of other teams around Europe are also taking the knee, some countries have a different view on the matter. Whilst a few feel they are tackling racism through other methods, others aren’t joining this protest for another reason: they believe it is too political. The management of the Czech national football team announced they will ‘take a neutral apolitical stance to...the BLM initiative’, and Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, defended Hungarian fans booing Irish players for kneeling and stated that the fight against racism "has no place on a sports field".
“With racism, LGBTQ+ issues, and social inclusion at the forefront of discussions, it is no surprise that the main focus wasn’t only about the players on the pitch. ”
Despite these countries believing that standing up to racism in this way is political, UEFA, on the other hand, does not. A spokesperson told Euronews that "UEFA has a zero-tolerance [policy] against racism and any player who wants to demand equality amongst human beings by taking the knee will be allowed to do so." The spokesperson even added that UEFA "urge[s] spectators to show respect for teams and players taking the knee.
Although UEFA stands by their policy, and believes “racism, homophobia, sexism, and all forms of discrimination are a stain on our societies”, in Germany, they declined a request to illuminate Munich’s Allianz Arena in rainbow colours for the Germany v Hungary match. The Football Governing Body believes the gesture has a political context due to the recent legislation passed in Hungary banning gay people from appearing in school educational materials or programmes for under-18s. So when push comes to shove, it seems like UEFA has difficulties backing up their own policies and standing by their previous claims.
And when football players choose to show their solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community through signs of support, they are being closely scrutinised by UEFA. Recently, German captain and goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, decided to play the German fixtures against France and Portugal with a rainbow colored armband. After the second match, UEFA launched an investigation into whether he should be fined for ‘political statements’ during one of their events.
“When push comes to shove, it seems like UEFA has difficulties backing up their own policies and standing by their previous claims. ”
UEFA has since told the German FA they have stopped their review of the armband worn by Neuer, and that no fines would be enforced. Considering that it was promoting a good cause, namely diversity, UEFA stated that “the team will not face disciplinary proceedings.” However, this case makes it seem that statements for inclusion are now perceived to be so sensitive that they have to be investigated.
Discussions like these stand in the way of real progress. We are not talking about making sports more inclusive, but merely about minor issues that are becoming more and more politicised. With little to no representation of open LGBTQ+ players in football, as well as most other sports, it is still a difficult conversation to have. Headlines in the US about the ‘first openly gay’ player in the NFL (American Football) show that it is not a common occurrance for players to come out, and the list of openly gay football players makes clear that this ‘taboo’ is also still very much alive in European football.
So, wouldn’t it be time to agree that standing up for inclusion is not necessarily political, and that the people who are politicising these issues are actually the politicians, not the football players? Isn’t it time to allow these footballers to use their large platforms to stand up to (or kneel against) racism? If UEFA can get its act together to allow this, maybe football can finally bring people together and become the inclusive sport it is now pretending to be.
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