Lee Anderson
(Picture: UK Parliament)It’s one thing saying you don’t watch football because you’re not interested in it. It’s another saying you refuse to watch it because you disagree with an anti-racist gesture the England team perform ahead of their matches.
Taking the knee gained prominence last year following protests over the murder of George Floyd, and is associated with the global Black Lives Matter movement.
Last month, England manager Gareth Southgate said his team were “more than ever determined to take the knee” and will ignore any adverse reactions from fans during the tournament.
Meanwhile, the Football Association (FA) said in a statement that the “gesture of unity and fighting against inequality” is “not new”.
“English football has made it very clear that it does not view this as being aligned to a political organisation or ideology. There can be no doubt as to why the players are taking the knee and what it represents in a footballing context,” they wrote.
But one Conservative MP wasn’t happy with this stance.
Lee Anderson, who represents Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, wrote in a Facebook post in June that the FA and England team had “made a big mistake” by taking the knee and they ran the risk of “having nothing in common with their traditional supporters”.
“For the first time in my life I will not be watching my beloved England team whilst they are supporting a political movement whose core principles aim to undermine our very way of life,” he announced.
After England got through to the semi-finals after defeating Ukraine 4-0, Anderson reiterated his stance.
“Well there is nothing to update, I stick by my comments three weeks ago,” he told the Nottingham Post.
He added that he hopes England go on to win the tournament but “I won’t be watching it, no”.
Hilariously, it seems as though the only person losing out when it comes to the Euros is Mr Anderson himself, as hopes continue to rise that football may finally be coming home.
Following Saturday’s game, Twitter was full of people feeling sorry that Mr Anderson missed a belter of a match:
Thoughts with Tory MP Lee Anderson this evening, who's missing England roaring into the semis because he's boycotting their matches over players taking a knee.
— Alexander Brown (@AlexofBrown) July 3, 2021
Thoughts with Lee Anderson tonight, you’ve missed a cracker mate https://t.co/uJSZCmhZR2
— Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) July 3, 2021
Spare a thought for Lee Anderson MP at this difficult time 🤣🦁 https://t.co/sgZMYm3I95
— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) June 29, 2021
Are you watching Con MP Lee Anderson or still boycotting England?
— Kevin Maguire (@Kevin_Maguire) June 29, 2021
And Con MP @Bren4Bassetlaw are you still comparing our players taking the knee to Nazi salutes?
Because everybody else is celebrating Gareth Southgate's vibrant, diverse Three Lions making us happy #EURO2020
Lee Anderson was born in 1967. Are we entirely sure it hasn’t been him watching that was the problem all along?
— Mikey Smith (@mikeysmith) July 3, 2021
I’m sure Lee Anderson is enjoying Pitch Perfect on ITV tonight…
— Jonathan Ashworth 😷💙 (@JonAshworth) July 3, 2021
I wonder if Lee Anderson thinks we’re already out.
— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) July 3, 2021
Tory MP Lee Anderson probably watching Pitch Perfect on ITV right now because he couldn’t bear watching an England team take the knee
— Marina Purkiss (@MarinaNigrelli) July 3, 2021
Thoughts and prayers for Lee Anderson MP, tonight. He missed a belter. #ENGUKR pic.twitter.com/tcvyc2frfi
— Bob 🌹😷 (@ddale0000) July 3, 2021
And if you’re wondering what the politician has been up to instead of cheering on The Three Lions, Mr Anderson has been providing updates on his Facebook page.
Despite not watching his own team compete in the contest, Mr Anderson has launched a Euro 2020 sweepstake for local businesses:
He’s also made headlines for telling campaigner Steve Bray – more commonly known as ‘Stop Brexit Steve’ – that he’s “nothing but a parasite, a malingerer and a scrounger”:
He’s read out mean tweets with fellow Tory MP Ben Bradley:
Like a true foodstagrammer, he’s taking snaps of his dinner plate:
He’s hung out with nature:
And while football’s coming home, he was moving home. On Friday, he posted a couch snap with his pet Westie.
“Draw me like one of your French girls,” one commenter joked.
Well, if he wants to start hopping on the bandwagon and start supporting England, then just like the Titanic, that ship’s already sailed.
