Anyone else getting sick and tired of having politics rammed down our throats by footballers and the football authorities

Whether its players taking the knee or rainbow laces or white ribbon day. Who knows what next weeks cause will be, but I am sure there will be one. There seems to be one every week

All I want is a game of football please

All getting a bit Orwellian for me,but a good point...Democracy is about choice.. No-one should feel intimidated about making a personal choice.

I completely agree with your sentiment. However, experience teaches me that whether it be sport, religion, music, art or anything you care to name, politics will trump everything. Politicians and political ideas will always find a way. Sad, but such is life.

Agree there's a fuss every year if certain players don't wear a poppy
In my opinion people gave their lives for people to have the right to not have to wear anything they don't want say what they want

I chose not to wear a poppy but always give to the British legion

Personal view only.

I don't like taking a knee. Not because I am against Black Lives Matter, but because it is political. I also don't like the wearing of poppies, political figures using football as a conduit as in Labour Party MP's and MA's advertising in the match day programme. And yes like snowman I just want to see a football match.

However I must add that I thought the booing by a section of the Millwall support yesterday was motivated by racism. They disgraced themselves, their club and our game by their actions.

Stan A. Einstein wrote:Personal view only.

I don't like taking a knee. Not because I am against Black Lives Matter, but because it is political. I also don't like the wearing of poppies, political figures using football as a conduit as in Labour Party MP's and MA's advertising in the match day programme. And yes like snowman I just want to see a football match.

However I must add that I thought the booing by a section of the Millwall support yesterday was motivated by racism. They disgraced themselves, their club and our game by their actions.

Only the Milwall fans truly know if their booing of the knee-taking was racially motivated. It could be they were expressing their displeasure at watching footballers support a Marxist organisation whose intention is to defund the Police. I for one , am sick & tired of it. Also, they were probably not impressed by certain players now giving the black power salute as well (TA, I’m looking at you). I want to watch a football match & I’m sure the Millwall fans did. No politics, no Rainbow Laces Initiative, just football.

The football authorities perhaps missed a trick at the start of the 'take a knee' gesture by not stating an end point. If it had been recognised that it would continue to the end of the restarted PL season, thus giving plenty of TV coverage of the racial issue it was intended to highlight. This could have included the completion of Championship fixtures. That would have been a natural break. Now that it has continued into this season and added EFL fixtures, just how and when is it to be concluded?

Dogger wrote:It could be they were expressing their displeasure at watching footballers support a Marxist organisation

This is most definitely true. Because famously the work of Karl Marx really resonates with professional footballers. The Football League highlights show on Quest last night was wall to wall with players quoting Das Kapital at length in their post-match interviews...

Dogger wrote:Only the Milwall fans truly know if their booing of the knee-taking was racially motivated. It could be they were expressing their displeasure at watching footballers support a Marxist organisation whose intention is to defund the Police. I for one , am sick & tired of it. Also, they were probably not impressed by certain players now giving the black power salute as well (TA, I’m looking at you). I want to watch a football match & I’m sure the Millwall fans did. No politics, no Rainbow Laces Initiative, just football.

Very true. Millwall fans have a rich history in anti-Marxist activism, including throwing bananas, aiming monkey noises and chants to footballers they suspected of subscribing to the thoughts of Marxism and never missing the chance to give the Marxist fans of rival clubs a kicking outside the ground.

They didn't boo because of Marxism, they booed because they are racist.

I too am getting somewhat tired of all manner of sports, arts, theatres etc taking knees, wearing ribbons, clapping, silence etc.
A couple of knees at the start of the season would have been enough.
How many people are actually seeing the knee or coloured corner flags?
If you don’t watch ifollow then you don’t get to see the knee because it’s not on the highlights.
What some of theses “statement types “ forget is that if you keep pushing issues down people’s throats then you are extremely likely to alienate people and for it thrown back at you; which then becomes counter productive.

I'm a local grassroots referee and have officiated 5 games in recent weeks. I'm not particularly pro/ante taking the knee but asked all 10 teams before my 5 games if they wanted to take a knee for a few seconds before the game. 8 positively wanted to so we did, all 8 teams had black guys in their sides. The 2 teams who declined were all white.

For me, it was a little more than 'just a small gesture' but gave everyone, including myself, a few moments to reflect on playing the game in a respectful manner. I didn't need to caution or dismiss any players in those games.

I dislike how politics is absorbing itself in our beautiful game and I don't agree with everything BLM says or does. But I do think taking the knee at any level of football means that, for 90mins at least, racism won't rear it's ugly head.

Millwall fans are an odd bunch, I thought they'd cleaned up their act in recent years and they've positively supported black players wearing their shirt. For their hardcore 2000 season ticket supporters to boo yesterday shows there's still some hatred amongst their core.

I will say, with regards to the rainbow laces and similar campaigns, it's all about representation. It might not mean much to a lot in the crowd to see the club captain with rainbow laces in his boots, but to a young kid struggling with his or her identity/sexuality, seeing their heroes stand in solidarity with them, or just showing their support, can make a world of difference.

Let's face it, if the colour of a players laces or the corner flag bothers you, there's bigger issues for you to sort out.

Kairdiff Exile wrote:

Dogger wrote:It could be they were expressing their displeasure at watching footballers support a Marxist organisation

This is most definitely true. Because famously the work of Karl Marx really resonates with professional footballers. The Football League highlights show on Quest last night was wall to wall with players quoting Das Kapital at length in their post-match interviews...

Don't get me started on Allardyce quoting the little red book. If a group of footballers want to kneel for five seconds before a game then more power to them, it really does not bother me. Go for a piss or buy a bovril. Fighting tooth and nail against discrimination is not always a political choice.

Taking the knee will be seen as a noble gesture by some. I personally believe it has had its day now. Message received and understood. A noble gesture. However, if what Dion Dublin said yesterday in response to the Millwall issue, was reported correctly, that is, "they don't agree with taking the knee, which means they're racist" then I object. It's like telling me that because I don't attend church I'm an atheist. Enough!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55192211

Keep politics out of football Flynn!