Chelsea forward, Romelu Lukaku has called for more “stronger” action in the right against racism, questioning the impact of players taking the knee before Premier League matches.
This is coming just few days after his Chelsea teammate, Marcos Alonso, explained his decision to stop taking the knee, deciding to instead stand, and point to the “No To Racism” badge on his shirt.
And according to other reports in the British media, Alonso, 30, had stopped taking the knee before coming out on Tuesday to reveal his decision.
The Chelsea left-back didn't take the knee in Chelsea's matches against Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur.
Belgium international Lukaku understands those opinions, points to the continuing online abuse aimed at black players.
“I think we can take stronger positions, basically,” Lukaku told CNN Sport. “Yeah, we are taking the knee but in the end everybody’s clapping but sometimes after the game, you see another insult.”
Lukaku further called for a meeting of high-profile players with social media bosses and other stakeholders to help tackle the issue of racism on their platforms.
“The captains of every team, and four or five players, like the big personalities of every team, should have a meeting with the CEOs of Instagram and governments and the FA (Football Association) and the PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association), and we should just sit around the table and have a big meeting about it,” Lukaku said.
“I think all of us together, have a big meeting and talk about stuff that needs to be addressed to protect the players.
“If you want to stop something, you can really do it.”
“I think right now, from the owner to us, the players, we as a club, we are really putting out a statement and taking a position that stuff like that should not be tolerated,” Lukaku said.
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
