Football supporters in Western and Southern Europe are the majority behind players who kneel before matches. Research agency YouGov polled more than 4,500 football fans in nine European countries and found that there are more supporters than opponents for the statement in Portugal, Italy, Spain, Germany, England, Wales, France and Scotland. Only in the Netherlands are there more opponents than proponents: 45 to 44 percent.
The kneeling serves as a statement against racial inequality and excessive police brutality and is made to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement. On Wednesday, the players of England and Austria (1-0) showed themselves in unison before the friendly meeting at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough by kneeling. The action was not welcomed by everyone in the stadium. Football fans across England, however, are a lot more positive. 54 percent support the statement; 39 percent are against. In Wales (53 to 37 percent) and Scotland (49 to 42 percent) there is also a larger group for than against. Among Britons from ethnic minority groups, the percentage of supporters is much higher: 78 to 12 percent.
According to the survey, Portuguese football fans (79 at 15 percent) are the most positive, while Italians (73 at 19 percent), Spaniards (71 at 22 percent), Germans (60 at 27 percent) and French (52 at 32 percent) are also the most positive. support statement. Of the countries surveyed, the Netherlands is the only country that has more opponents than proponents, although the difference probably falls within the unreported margin of error. In all countries, football fans say they know the reasons behind the statement; in the Netherlands this is 69 percent, while 28 percent say they are not familiar with the reasons for kneeling, a gesture that generated worldwide attention when NFL player Colin Kaepernick started it during the American national anthem in 2016.
Within the countries surveyed, there is disagreement about whether kneeling is important in the fight against racism in football. Fans in Portugal (76 at 22 percent), Spain (66 at 30 percent), Italy (57 at 39 percent), Germany (48 at 42 percent) and France (48 at 43 percent) think kneeling helps, while fans in The Netherlands (47 to 48 percent), Wales (41 to 53 percent), England (37 to 57 percent) and Scotland (36 to 57 percent) do not consider the statement important in the fight against racism. Britons from ethnic minority groups do think the statement helps: 61 to 32 percent agree. YouGov’s survey was conducted between February 21 and March 31.
This week it became clear that the England selection will kneel before the European Championship match with Croatia on Sunday afternoon, while the opponent will not choose to do so. “The Croatian Football Association and the national team condemn all forms of discrimination. We also respect the right of each individual and each organization to choose how a statement is made,” the Croatian Federation wrote in a statement. “We believe that players have the right to decide for themselves how they deal with topics such as racism and discrimination and whether they want to participate in activity to express their views.”
Last Sunday, prior to the exhibition game between Belgium and Croatia (1-0), a similar situation arose: only the Belgians were on their right knee. “Croatia players have decided before the exhibition game with Belgium to remain respectful while the Belgians kneel,” said the Croatian Federation. “The Croatian Football Association respects this attitude of the players and will not oblige the squad to kneel. In the context of Croatian culture and tradition, this gesture is separate from the fight against racism and discrimination.”
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