Teams set to perform gesture in selected October games
Concerns raised that its ubiquity reduced its impact
Women’s Super League players will resume taking the knee this season after England’s Lionesses abruptly stopped performing the symbolic gesture at last month’s European Championship.
England’s players announced they would no longer be taking the knee before their semi-final against Italy because of the racist abuse aimed at Jess Carter during the tournament. The 27-year-old defender was targeted online by several individuals, with the first of what is expected to be several arrests in the case made on Thursday.
In a joint statement two days before the Italy semi-final the England squad said: “It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism.” But the Guardian has learned that the WSL has decided, after talks with club captains in recent days, not to abandon the pre-match protocol it introduced five years ago.
