James Cleverly condemned football supporters booing players who take the knee
Conservative government minister James Cleverly said the scenes at Millwall's ground this weekend were "completely wrong."
Before the game kicked off players took the knee in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, a large number of the 2,000
Millwall fans present could be heard booing.
Over the weekend other members of the government would not condemn the move, and the Millwall supporters club denied that booing the anti-racist gesture was racist.
James Cleverly told
LBC: "It is wrong for the football fans to boo the players, those players were acting in a way that demonstrates a solidarity with those people fighting racism and those who have been victims of racism.
"And booing that is completely wrong.
"I'm totally comfortable saying that but I also do think we that we should recognise there is a longstanding, preexisting organisation that's been fighting racism in football, they don't get the kind of coverage I think they deserve.
"And I actually I think three are some, some, within the BLM movement who are pushing a very extreme political agenda.
"Certainly not all and I don't believe for a second that any of the players on the pitch were reflecting that but I do think that the booing was wrong."
https://twitter.com/LBC/status/1335859048504315907
That's a progression on environment secretary George Eustice's remarks on Sunday to
Sky News, when the
cabinet minister failed to condemn the booing.
Eustice said he hadn't seen the incident and that "the issue of race and racial discrimination is something that we all take very very seriously."
He added: "My personal view is that Black Lives Matter, capital B, L and M, is actually a political movement that is different to what most of us believe in, which is standing up for racial equality.
"Each individual can take their own choices about how they reflect this and I know a number of people feel quite strongly and have taken that approach."
https://www.facebook.com/www.JOE.co.uk/posts/2004365009727555
At Millwall's stadium, The Den, fans were pitchside for the first time since February 29 and watched their team lose to Derby 1-0.
After the game Derby manager
Wayne Rooney said: "Yesterday I witnessed disgraceful and mindless behaviour by a large section of Millwall supporters in the stadium.
"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."
But Gary Rowett, Millwall's manager reacted differently. Instead announcing that his players would no longer take the knee before games.
https://twitter.com/FootballJOE/status/1335302889514950664
