Ipswich Town‘s Issa Diop refused to take the knee on Friday night, snubbing the Premier League‘s anti-racism gesture.
Diop was the only player among the 22 on the pitch to remain standing, while Nottingham Forest‘s starters and his own team-mates all opted to take part at Portman Road.
Premier League players have been given the opportunity to take the knee across two weekends this month in an effort to challenge discrimination.
Diop is one of six players in the Premier League who have decided not to participate, citing growing concerns about the impact of the ‘Say No to Racism’ campaign.
During the last round of fixtures, Leeds‘ Dominic Calvert-Lewin chose to remain standing, while parts of Elland Road booed the gesture.
And on Friday evening, moments before the first game of the eighth round of fixtures, Diop stuck out in the heart of Ipswich’s defence as those around him sunk to the turf.
Issa Diop (right) can be seen standing while other players take the knee prior to Ipswich Town’s clash with Nottingham Forest on Friday night
His defiant move mirrored his actions last week before Ipswich’s game against Man City, while opposition centre-back Marc Guehi also chose to stand.
Everton’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles also refused to take the knee and was the only player to do so before Everton’s game against Chelsea at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Bournemouth’s Rayan and Tyler Adams were the two others who refused to take the knee, but more could follow over this weekend’s matches.
Diop has not spoken publicly about his stance but the move has divided players, some of whom view it as a hollow gesture.
When asked about Calvert-Lewin’s viewpoint last week, Leeds manager Daniel Farke explained his striker’s thinking, saying: ‘Dom is more or less like, “No, I don’t go down. I show my respect by standing up.”
‘Every individual is different and shows respect for this campaign in a different way. It’s definitely a good campaign and a good topic that football and sports, in general, support situations like this because a dressing room is a perfect example of how we should all live together.
‘Different passports, different languages, different religions, but they are all together as human beings and friends who work together toward one target. This is how the world should be.’
Every other player on the pitch at Portman Road took the knee while Diop remained standing
The campaign was previously enacted before every game until it stopped in August 2022 having been started in the UK in 2020 following the death of George Floyd in US police custody, which sparked the Black Lives Matter movement.
Subsequently, a decision was made to limit the gesture to match rounds falling during the No Room For Racism initiative.
It was agreed ahead of the season among Premier League captains that they would continue to perform the gesture twice per season.
While the vast majority of players have taken part, some strong opposition has been voiced, notably by Wilfried Zaha in 2021, who said: ‘I feel like taking the knee is degrading, because growing up my parents just let me know that I should be proud to be black no matter what and I feel like we should just stand tall.’
And last year, the Lionesses chose not to kneel before their Euro 2025 semi-final against Italy following racist abuse aimed at defender Jess Carter on social media.
Captain Lucy Bronze said the anti-racism message is not ‘as strong as it used to be’ following the abuse of her team-mate.
‘It was driven by the group – obviously certain individuals more than others,’ Bronze explained. ‘I think it was just the fact that we feel as a collective, is the message as strong as it used to be? Is the message really hitting hard? Because to us it feels like it’s not if these things are still happening to our players in the biggest tournaments of their lives.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles was one of six Premier League players who refused to take the knee last weekend, pictured standing ahead of Everton’s 2-0 defeat against Chelsea on Saturday
‘It’s about putting another statement out there to say, it’s something that still is a problem, it’s something that still needs to be put right. More needs to be done in football, more needs to be done in society. What that is right now as an individual, I don’t exactly know.’
But the head of football’s international anti-discrimination body, Fare, questioned the Lionesses’ decision to stop taking the knee.
Piara Powar told BBC Sport: ‘The players have taken a decision to stop taking the knee, which is their right.
‘Personally don’t see the link between the two. The taking of the knee is a powerful anti-racist act and this England team have shown leadership across Europe in taking it for so long.
‘Powerful actions are needed right now, to deal with the issues that are being played out as we speak.’
