A little more than a quarter of people are against England taking a knee, according to a new poll ahead of the Three Lions’ Euro 2020 Group D opener against Croatia at Wembley this afternoon.
The Ipsos Mori survey found that 48% of football fans support England’s players making the anti-racism gesture before games as opposed to 27% against it.
Last night the FA published a video on social media that made clear their reasons for taking a knee at the end of a week in which manager Gareth Southgate penned an open letter to supporters and a number of players explained their reasoning.
Yet boos are expected again at Wembley come 2pm, where 22,5000 supporters will watch the de facto hosts begin their campaign against the side that defeated them in the World Cup semi-final three years ago.
Croatia have confirmed that they will not be taking the knee and will instead stand in silence. A statement from their federation said: “[We] will not impose taking the knee as an obligation for Croatian players, as this gesture does not hold any symbolic ties to the fight against racism and discrimination in the context of Croatian culture and tradition.
“In general, we believe the most important thing is the fact that Croatian internationals have conducted themselves respectfully throughout their careers and that they have shown through their behavior that they respect all individuals, opponents, and teammates, regardless of race, religion, social status, ethnicity, or any other characteristic.”
The survey also found that 30% would support fans choosing to boo the team, with 51% against. Almost half said that jeering would have a negative impact on the fight against racism in football.
“There is a significant minority that do oppose, in fact three in 10 football fans support those that boo the team for kneeling,” research director Keiran Pedley said. “That being said, many more fans oppose the booing and express feelings of shame, embarrassment and discomfort in response.
“Strikingly, almost half of football fans in England think the booing will negatively impact the fight against racism in football, posing the question of what the long-term implications of such events might be for the game.”
