Foreign Secretary David Lammy has suggested that the time for taking the knee has 'probably passed', following the England women's football team's decision to stop using the anti-racism gesture before matches.
Speaking on Times Radio, Mr Lammy said the gesture was adopted at a 'moment in time' after the murder of George Floyd in the US, but added: 'I think that moment has probably passed. I haven't seen actually for some years people using that particular gesture.'
The Lionesses announced they would no longer take the knee after their star Jess Carter was subjected to racist abuse during the Euros tournament. In a statement, the team said 'another way' needed to be found to tackle racism and that football must look at 'what more can be done'.
Mr Lammy, a Tottenham Hotspur fan, acknowledged that football had come a long way since the 1970s but stressed that problems persist. 'It's distressing and very sad that these young players are receiving racism in the way that they are,' he said.
The gesture, which originated with NFL player Colin Kaepernick in 2016, was widely adopted by politicians including Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
