Russian Football Players Refrained From Kneeling Before Euro Match Vs Belgium

ST. PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th June, 2021) The football players of the Russian national team did not kneel in solidarity with the fight against racism before the EURO 2020 match with the team from Belgium on Saturday.

The match kicked off at 22:00 (19:00 GMT) at St. Petersburg Stadium, Russia. All the players of the Belgian national team, as well as the referees of the match, knelt before the starting whistle, while not a single player of the Russian national team followed the initiative.

On the eve of the tournament, the UEFA stated that it was up to the national teams to decide whether or not to proceed with the counter-racism "taking the knee" gesture. In the opening match of EURO 2020, the players of the national teams of Italy and Turkey did not kneel. They were joined by the national teams of Scotland, Croatia, and the Netherlands.