JADON SANCHO and his Borussia Dortmund backed the Black Lives Matter campaign on a day of anti-racism protests across the world.
The Bundesliga side warmed up for their 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin on Saturday evening wearing various T-shirts to support the movement, before both sets of place took a knee before kick-off.
Jadon Sancho’s T-shirt during the warm-up on Saturday read: ‘No justice, no peace’ as he took a stand against racismCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Both sets of players took a knee before the game kicked off at Signal Iduna ParkCredit: AP:Associated Press
Some of the black tops had the words “black”, “white”, “yellow” and “red” all crossed out with “HUMAN” at the bottom.
Sancho’s read: “No justice, no peace,” while Thorgan Hazard’s said: “United together.”
Borussia Dortmund tweeted pictures of goalkeeper Roman Burki, Axel Witsel, Achraf Hakimi and Gio Reyna going through their stretches and loosening up before kick-off.
The social media post was captioned: “We are all human,” followed by a yellow heart and “#BlackLivesMatter”.
Before the game got underway at Signal Iduna Park, the two sets of players formed a large circle on the pitch and took a knee in a powerful demonstration as thousands across the world – including throughout the UK – took a stand.
Emre Can scored the only goal of the game as Lucien Favre’s side just about kept pace with Bayern Munich, who remain seven points clear at the top after they a 4-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen.
Last week, Sancho revealed a T-shirt which had “Justice for George Floyd” handwritten on after scoring the first goal in his hat-trick against Paderborn.
The England winger, 20, was booked for the gesture in support of the unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis after a video showed him struggling to breathe with a cop’s knee on his neck.
He was one of a number of players to protest but Bundesliga bosses confirmed they would take “no proceedings” against them.
Earlier this week, the FA gave Premier League stars the green light to take a knee in support of race equality.
Writing messages underneath shirts is technically still against the laws of the game and can be punished by a match official or the FA.
But the governing body have effectively suggested they will turn a blind eye to players in England making similar statements following the death of Floyd last month.
Meanwhile, Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo vowed to talk off the pitch if he is racially abused again.
The Nigerian revealed he was called “all sorts of names” by an opponent in China and said: “If it happens to me I would report it to the referee and see what they do.
“But if they don’t take action about it then I’m going to walk off because it should not be done to any player or anyone in the world.”
Goalkeeper Roman Burki joined his team-mates in uniting together in the fightCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Achraf Hakimi wore the same T-shirt as Sancho as the team prepared to take on Hertha BerlinCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Sancho revealed a T-shirt calling for “Justice for George Floyd” after scoring last week and was shown a yellow cardCredit: PA:Press Association
Laura Woods shares anti-racism message after footballers including Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba respond to killing of George Floyd
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
