ANITA ASANTE has questioned whether players may need to stage a walk-off should they face terrace boos and jeers for taking a knee.
And Troy Deeney reckons he would be prepared to leave the pitch with his Watford team-mates if any heard racist chants from the stands.
Asante’s and Deeney’s comments came after a section of Millwall’s fans were condemned by their club for booing players kneeling ahead of their 1-0 loss to Derby.
The incident overshadowed the return of more than 2,000 supporters to The Den for the first time since the pandemic.
Aston Villa defender Asante – a vocal opponent of discrimination in the game – is among the WSL stars who criticised the jeering of players making the symbolic gesture.
On Twitter, the former Lionesses star said: “It’s sad to say this but, maybe it’s time for players to walk off the pitch.
“Booing at taking the knee is in direct opposition to equality and anti-racism.”
SunSport columnist Deeney, whose team face Millwall this month, says he plans to ignore any jeers from the stands.
However, the Hornets forward has drawn the line at direct racial abuse and says he is ready to leave the pitch if he is on the receiving end of any from the terraces.
Deeney told TalkSPORT: “When they boo, I’ll still be there.
“But if it gets to that line of racial things being said to me or my players, we’ve already had a conversation about what happens. We walk, simple.
“We’re not here to be racially abused, we’re here to play football and entertain.
“There’s a lot of things you can call me. You can call me a big head and say I’ve got teeth like a shark but if you racially abuse me, I’m not going to stand there and take it.
“If I turn around and get physical with that person, I get in trouble and the club gets in trouble, so the only thing I can do in that moment is report it and leave.
“That’s all I can do, so that’s what we will do.”
Since June players and officials have been taking a knee ahead of games in support of the fight against racism.
Some quarters sections have attempted to tie the gesture with the Black Lives Matter political movement.
However, Premier League officials have issued statements to say there are no connections between the two.
Footage of Millwall fans jeering kneeling players went viral on social media ahead of their team’s loss to Wayne Rooney’s Rams.
The incident provoked an anti-racism row with interim Derby boss Rooney and forward Colin Kazim-Richards criticising fans'behaviour.
Source: Read Full Article