Manchester City defender Marc Guehi was one of six Premier League players who remained standing as the taking of the knee returned over the weekend, saying he is "hopeful a bit more can be done" to tackle racism.
The centre-back chose not to kneel on Saturday during the Premier League's No Room For Racism initiative, which was pre-agreed to take centre stage across two weekends in October. Players had regularly taken the knee since the action returned after the Covid pandemic.
Six players stood during the gesture
Guehi was joined by Issa Diop, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Bournemouth duo Rayan and Tyler Adams in standing while others kneeled. The action was first introduced into the Premier League six years ago.
Guehi admitted the gesture had "maybe" lost its meaning and explained he had not been taking the knee for some time. He said: "I'd always clap just because of what that actually signifies. But in terms of if something can be done, hopefully. I hope we can do a bit more. But we'll just see. Hopefully the message is still getting out there, which is the most important. I feel like the campaign is still there, which is great. The message is still there, which is great. However, more can be done. More can always be done."
Wider societal issue
Guehi added: "I think we just have to see how we can move the campaign along. I don't think it's necessarily a football issue. I think it's a wider societal issue. Football is just that beacon of hope to try and get the message out. But whether more can be done, we'll try. Hopefully with the PFA [Professional Footballers' Association], with the league, to see what can be done."
A number of former Premier League players have criticised the action. Ex-Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha said he wanted to "stand tall" and show his pride at being black.
Former Brentford forward Ivan Toney said: "We are kind of being used as puppets, in my eyes; take the knee and the people at the top can rest for a while now, which is pretty silly and pretty pointless. Nothing is changing."
