Chelsea striker, Romelu Lukaku says football must take “stronger” action in the fight against racism, questioning the impact of players taking the knee before Premier League matches.
Lukaku’s Chelsea team-mate Marcos Alonso this week explained his decision to stop making the gesture, deciding instead to stand and point to the “No To Racism” badge on his shirt.
Last season, Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha stopped taking the knee, labelling it “degrading” and opting to stand instead.
Belgium international Lukaku understands those opinions, pointing to the continuing online abuse aimed at black players.
Lukaku said “I think we can take stronger positions, basically. Yeah, we are taking the knee but in the end, everybody’s clapping but sometimes after the game, you see another insult. The captains of every team, and four or five players, like the big personalities of every team, should have a meeting with the CEOs of Instagram and governments and the FA (Football Association) and the PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association), and we should just sit around the table and have a big meeting about it. I think all of us together, have a big meeting and talk about stuff that needs to be addressed to protect the players. If you want to stop something, you can really do it. I think right now, from the owner to us, the players, we as a club, we are really putting out a statement and taking a position that stuff like that should not be tolerated,”