EURO 2020 is on its way and one new feature of the tournament looks set to be the differing stance teams will take against racism.
England have become embroiled in a big row with the players condemning fans who booed them taking the knee against Austria and Romania.
And manager Gareth Southgate said the players are even more determined to take the knee following the booing.
Here’s what all 24 teams will be doing during the tournament.
Which teams are taking the knee at Euro 2020?
England
England will continue to take the knee during Euro 2020, as they have been since the murder of George Floyd last year.
The team have stated that they believe the gesture is not a political one and designed simply to show support for racial equality.
Gareth Southgate said: “I think we have got a situation where some people seem to think it is a political stand that they don’t agree with.
“That is not the reason the players are doing it. We are supporting each other.”
Wales
Wales have taken the knee over the past year and will continue to do so.
Interim manager Rob Page said: “We had a meeting and we all think it’s still important to take the knee.
“That’s the message we’ve given out. We’re all in it together and there were no issues.”
Belgium
Belgium are the only non-British team to announce they will take the knee throughout Euro 2020.
Romelu Lukaku said of any negative reactions: “I don’t care. I fight for diversity.
“Not only for the black community, also for the women. Colour, sexuality, faith, it doesn’t matter. Everybody should be respected.”
Switzerland
Switzerland did take the knee in their opening Euro 2020 game against Wales.
It is not known whether they will take the knee in their remaining matches.
Which teams will not take the knee at Euro 2020?
Hungary
The Hungarian FA were the first association to confirm they will not take the knee at Euro 2020.
In a statement they said they view the knee as a political gesture in defiance of Uefa and Fifa rules.
It read: “The basic values of the sport are equal opportunities, respect for the teammate and the opponent.
“Football may have become the most popular sport in the world because it belongs to everyone.
“The Hungarian national team not only follows the international rules and norms in all cases, but also pays tribute to everyone – be it an opponent, a fan or anyone else.
“MLSZ has been fighting all forms of hatred for years as part of the ‘Hate is not a track’ campaign.
“The rules of UEFA and FIFA do not allow politicization on the pitch and in the stadium either, which the MLSZ not only accepts but also agrees with.
“The national team will not express its condemnation of any form of hatred by kneeling before the matches.”
During their warm-up game against Ireland, Hungary pointed to the Uefa Respect logo on the sleeves of their shirts while the Irish team took the knee and were booed by a sizeable portion of the 15,000 crowd.
Croatia
England’s first opponents at Euro 2020 did not take the knee.
An official statement read: “CFF and the players are against any form of discrimination.
“But the FA provides the players with the right to choose, as the act itself isn’t a part of Croatian culture and heritage.
“The players chose not to kneel down before the Belgium game, but they’ve taken a respectful stance towards the gesture made by their Belgium colleagues.”
Italy
Italy did not take the knee in their opening match against Turkey.
It is not known whether they will take the knee against Wales.
Turkey
Turkey did not take the knee in their opening match against Italy.
It is not known whether they will take the knee against Wales.
Denmark
Denmark did not take the knee in their Euro 2020 opener against Finland.
It is not known whether they will do so when they play Belgium.
Finland
Finland did not take the knee in their Euro 2020 opener against Denmark.
It is not known whether they will do so when they play Belgium.
Russia
Russia did not take the knee in their opening game against Belgium.
The crowd in St Petersburg were also heard booing the Belgian team, who did choose to kneel.
Holland
The Netherlands will not take the knee in any of their games, captain Georginio Wijnaldum has said.
Wijnaldum, who has been taking the knee with Liverpool in Premier League games, commented: “We have talked about that but we decided not to do this.
“We’re trying to bring attention to the issue in a different way. Actually, only the players who play in England are used to this [kneeling].”
What are the other teams doing?
Scotland stars originally said that would NOT be taking a knee prior to their Euro 2020 matches.
The Scottish FA have confirmed they will continue to promote an anti-racist message by standing before matches.
But just a day later, they confirmed that they WILL in their match against England.
Scotland skipper Andy Robertson said: “It is important we continue to tackle the issue of racism and raise awareness of the need to change people’s mindsets but also their behaviours.
“Prior to our World Cup qualifiers in March we spoke as a group and felt that taking a stand was the best way for us to show solidarity and also to reinforce the need for meaningful change in society.”
Austria
Austria chose to join England in taking the knee in their recent friendly in Middlesbrough.
It is not known whether they will do so in their Euro 2020 games.
On the fence
North Macedonia
North Macedonia have not declared any position on taking the knee.
Lean no
Ukraine
Ukraine have not announced a position on taking the knee.
On the fence
Czech Republic
Czech Republic refused to take the knee in their game against Wales in March and are highly unlikely to do so at Euro 2020.
The Czechs decided to point to the Uefa Respect logo in their sleeves on that occasion as a “neutral, apolitical gesture”.
The players will discuss the gesture again before the Euros.
However they are thought to be less likely than ever to take the knee after being angered by the ten-game suspension Uefa handed down to defender Ondrej Kudela after he was found to have racially abused Rangers’ Glen Kamara.
No chance
Spain
While some La Liga players have shown solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, the Spain team have never taken the knee and their clubs also tend not to.
Real Madrid did not take the knee against Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester City while Villarreal chose not to kneel against Man Utd in the Europa League final.
When Granada played Man Utd, only Brazil winger Kenedy took the knee.
Spain have made no statement on taking the knee at Euro 2020.
Lean no
Sweden
Sweden have not taken the knee in their recent friendlies or made any statement on taking it during the tournament.
On the fence
Poland
Poland are almost certain not to take the knee at Euro 2020 with the gesture being criticised by both their FA president and sections of their support.
The Poles refused to kneel against England and instead pointed to the Uefa Respect logo on their sleeves.
Polish FA President Zbigniew Boniek labelled the gesture “populism” that “achieved nothing” and said: “I am absolutely against such actions.
“Footballers sometimes kneel, and if you asked some of them why they were kneeling, they wouldn’t even know.”
No chance
Slovakia
Slovakia took the knee against Ireland and Scotland last October but were criticised in the Slovakian parliament.
After this, the country’s FA said the players had only taken the knee because they believed Uefa had instructed them to do so and would no longer perform the gesture.
Lean no
Portugal
Portugal have not taken the knee in their warm-up friendlies though many of their Europe-based players have done so in their domestic leagues.
They have made no statement on performing the gesture at the Euros.
On the fence
France
France took the knee in their first warm-up friendly against Wales but not in their second one against Bulgaria.
This would suggest that they will only take the knee during Euro 2020 if the opposition does.
They have made no statement on what they intend to do during the tournament.
On the fence
Germany
Bundesliga players took the knee after the murder of George Floyd last season.
However, the national team have not been kneeling in 2021.
The German team have been vocal in their support of human rights for migrant workers in Qatar.
On the fence
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
