Morgan Gibbs-White has relived the “shocking” moment he was racially abused on the pitch - and insisted that is why players are right to take the knee.
Premier League players will make the anti-discrimination gesture in this weekend’s round of games as part of the No Room for Racism campaign. Nottingham Forest midfielder Gibbs-White says he was abused by an opponent during the 2017 under-17s World Cup final and that moment has left a lasting impression.
But it also motivated him as England won the game but left him determined to take a stand and make his voice heard which is why he believes taking the knee remains important. Gibbs-White, 22, said: “Taking the knee means a lot to me, being the colour that I am and having racial abuse directed towards me before in the past. We’re coming together to stand up and try and fight against discrimination, so the more support and awareness we can raise the better.
“When we were in the Under-17 World Cup [in 2017] and one of the Spanish players was actually racist to me and Rhian Brewster. It didn't really hurt me, but it gave me the confidence to want to beat the team and the players. And it proved in the World Cup final! We went on to thrash Spain 5-2, so more fool him.
“I was quite shocked, to be honest, to receive that comment at such a high level of football. Obviously we went about it the right way, we followed the steps, told the referee, told our manager at the time, and then went on from there.
“But like I said, I was shocked. But it sort of gave me that motivation to be like, ‘Oh, I want to beat you now.’”
Premier League players were making the gesture before every game but this season decided to do it at certain points of the campaign, including last weekend and the next set of games. They will also do it before big games later in the season.
Gibbs-White believes it remains an important gesture especially as it shows “ally ship" from his team mates and opponents. He added: “It was a big thing in the moment, taking the knee. When I saw everyone taking part, I was like: ‘wow, everyone's really buying into it.’
“I know there was a spike in racial abuse when we started taking the knee, but I am pleased we haven’t shied away from it. As long as we can keep going and raising awareness, it will make a positive change. Taking the knee was the biggest stamp on racial abuse we could do at the time, and it created a lot of awareness. Just to know that everyone was coming together and being together in that moment was special thing.
“It’s important because racial abuse is still going on to this day. The more we can raise awareness and speak about it, the better off we can be. People and fans all around the world look up to us a role models, so they're going to see us creating awareness and doing the right thing and others are going to follow that.
“Ally ship is massive, because the more we speak about it as role models, the more people are going to listen and the more people are going to want to follow the way we deal with it. It’s massive for football to feel as open as possible and a welcoming environment for all, no matter what it is, racism or gender.
“We want everyone to feel free to be themselves, to make sure we are getting the best out of every person, so we can be the best version of a team and group collectively.”
Several big names are talking up around this weekend’s renewed campaign with Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta also lending his support.
Azpilicueta said: “It means part of the fight against racism that, unfortunately, we keep seeing not only in football, but in the wider society. So, as Premier League players, we get together as a unit to refuse any kind of racism that happens not only football, but everywhere.
“Taking the knee forms part of the daily fight that we have against all kinds of discrimination and racism. So, we have to keep working hard because we're still seeing incidents, and hopefully all together working hard, we can make it happen. It’s seen as a positive thing that we all come together to work towards the end of racism, and taking the knee is something visual for everybody to see that forms part of that. Every day something little counts a lot and hopefully we can keep going.”
