Motherwell players did not take the knee ahead of today's clash with Kilmarnock to highlight the "lack of action" being taken to fight racism.
The club's chief executive Alan Burrows took to social media yesterday to show his support for Rangers player Glen Kamara amid the alleged vile racist abuse he said he received during the Europa League defeat to Slavia Prague on Thursday night.
He stated that "we need to send a stronger message and those not involved in a particular incident should no longer remain pacifist" in his post and this afternoon the Steelmen decided to take a stand as a club by refusing to take the knee.
They explained just before kick-off with a tweet on their official account and a club statement on their website.
The tweet read: "Enough is enough. Our players will no longer take the knee. Instead, we are taking a stand against racism and the lack of action being taken to fight it."
Enough is enough.
— Motherwell FC (@MotherwellFC) March 20, 2021
Our players will no longer take the knee.
Instead, we are taking a stand against racism and the lack of action being taken to fight it.
And the statement read: "Our players have stopped taking the knee before matches, effective immediately from our Scottish Premiership match on Saturday 20 March.
"Motherwell Football Club stands united with this collective decision and their reasons.
"We fully endorse the following statement from the players. It is time for action on racism, not empty gestures.
"The players of Motherwell FC said:
“When we started taking the knee at the start of the season, it had an impact. For the first few weeks, the message was loud and clear. Now it has been lost.
“Taking a knee has become something someone does now for the sake of it. It has completely lost its meaning.
“As a squad, we spoke and asked ourselves ‘why are we doing this anymore? Is it having any impact at all?’ The answer was a clear no.
“Taking a knee has become an empty gesture. Instead, we want those in power to take real and immediate action on racism.
“Apathy and complacency have set into the routine. We want our actions to cause a realisation and a reaction.
“Racism is apparent everywhere in the day-to-day life of society. People need to realise change is required.
“Players, clubs, authorities and society now need to unite, and fight for a level playing field for all."
Kilmarnock players did take the knee ahead of kick-off and the game got off to a lively start with Barry Maguire netting on eight minutes to cancel out Kyle Lafferty's first minute opener for the hosts.
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