Jadon Sancho eschewed celebrating his first Borussia Dortmund goal since the Bundesliga restart by making a statement over the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in America last week.
The Chelsea transfer target found the net to put Dortmund 2-0 in front away to Paderborn this afternoon and ran to the corner flag before removing his shirt to reveal a message on his base layer that read: "Justice for George Floyd".
Sancho was making his first start for Lucien Favre's team since the German top flight resumed post-coronavirus, having appeared off the bench in the previous three games owing to a calf strain.
The England attacker was shown a second yellow card of the season for removing his shirt but then went on to make a hat-trick in a second-half rout of the league's basement side.
The opening goals was the Londoner's 31st direct contribution to a goal this season, including 16 assists, and he followed it up by scoring a second in the 74th minute to make it 3-1 to Dortmund before wrapping up his hat-trick in the first minute of added time.
Sancho is the latest in a long line of athletes to have made a statement this weekend following the murder of Floyd in Minneapolis that has led to protests turning violent across America.
He is the third high-profile Bundesliga player to have left an on-field message in this round of games.
Weston McKennie, the United States international, wore an armband calling for justice in Schalke's defeat to Wolfsburg on Saturday afternoon while Borussia Monchengladbach's young attacker Marcus Thuram kneeled in protest after finding the net against Union Berlin earlier on Sunday.
A number of Premier League players have shared messages on social media.
