GARETH SOUTHGATE told the boo-boys they will not stop his stars taking a knee.
The Three Lions were jeered for kneeling against Austria and there are fears that could be repeated against Romania today — and then throughout the Euros.
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But after calling a team meeting, the England boss revealed his players will now continue to raise awareness of racial inequality this summer.
Southgate said: “We feel, more than ever, we are determined to take the knee throughout the tournament.
“We accept there might be an adverse reaction but we’re going to ignore it and move forward. We are all trying to move towards equality — and support our team-mates because of some of the experiences they’ve been through — but people decided to boo.
“The players are sick of talking about all the consequences of should they, shouldn’t they.
“They’ve had enough really. And as far as I’m concerned, they are not going to take any more questions on this through the tournament. If it happens, it happens.
“Their voices have been made loud and clear. They are making their stand — but they want the focus to be on football.”
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Some fans booed taking the knee towards the end of the domestic season.
Southgate added: “It’s pointless us wasting our energy if people aren’t prepared to take part in change, look for progress.
“We had a productive meeting with a group of players and we took that to the wider group.
“But there are other things we need to spend our time on.
“The fact that we are going to keep this is impactful. But how many times have we sat here over the last two years discussing these things?
“I must never be tired of doing that — because I don’t have the right to be tired of it.
“I haven’t lived the life my players have, or experienced the things they have.
“It saddens me they are so hardened to it that they’re almost dismissive.
“That’s something in our country we should all reflect on.
“We’re never going to change everybody — but we know that from one generation to the next things improve.
“That’s got to be our aim — to make it better for our children and our grandchildren.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
