PFA deputy chief urges footballers to protest side by side against George Floyd death: 'It's an issue for us all'
The deputy chief executive of the PFA has backed the FA’s decision to take a lenient approach to players who protest racism when the season restarts.
The FA has confirmed it will follow advice from Fifa to “use common sense” and consider “the context” if players join protesting against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week.
The chairman of anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out, Sanjay Bhandari, has urged all Premier League players, white or black, to take a knee in protest when the season resumes later this month.
The players' union has already said they 'stand in solidarity against systemic racism' and Bobby Barnes, the PFA deputy, wants to see players come together to take a stand.
“[Protesting] is a matter of choice for individual players,” Barnes told Standard Sport. “But the most powerful messages that are those that come out jointly — not just black players but players in unity for a common cause.
“Even going back to the 1960s civil rights movement, the power of that movement was not just through Martin Luther King and black people coming out on marches, it was those that stood with them. Bob Dylan and other great artists, who stood together.
"When we've had this discussion about whether black players should leave the pitch after incidents of racist abuse, I've always said why would it just be black players who should leave the pitch. It should be all players who come together to condemn these acts. I've always said the most powerful image we could have after racist abuse would be for the referee to march off with the 22 players in unity to demonstrate it's not just a black issue, it's an issue for us all.
"Fifa have put out a very sensible statement and judged the mood right,” Barnes added.
"I very much hope that not just in this country but around the world people will respect that this is not a political statement players are making. It's a human rights protests, about players making it known they stand together with George Floyd and against racist abuse and murder. I don't think you can classify it as a political statement."
The German FA (DFB) said it was considering sanctions against Jadon Sancho, Achraf Hakimi, Weston McKennie and Marcus Thuram for protesting during this weekend's Bundesliga fixtures, with Thuram taking a knee after scoring for Borussia Monchengladbach.
Barnes added: "I would very much hope that the Bundesliga would note the message from Fifa and look at it in the spirit with which it was intended. They made a statement which was intended to use their platforms as role models to condemn something which we all agree was wrong. How can you be punished for that? Players are quite rightly using their voice to protest something that we all agree was wrong.
"For me, it would be perverse for players to be punished for players speaking out and doing the right thing."
The Liverpool and Chelsea squads took a knee in training this week to show solidarity with Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed when a white officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis, despite Floyd repeatedly pleading for air.
"I think it's a great show of solidarity and the wonderful thing about both of those particular clubs is they have really multicultural dressing rooms,” Barnes said. “For me, it's the fact that the players have come together in solidarity to take a real stand against injustice. I think more will follow throughout the league. It demonstrates the culture we have here – a multicultural Premier League and Football League.
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"Our players are aware of what is going on in the States and want to make a statement directly against the sheer injustice and brutality over what took place.
"The players are often asked to be role models and they're often criticised. Making a gesture like this demonstrates to the wider world that they're using their platform to express concern about events going on in the world that aren't necessarily in their backyard.
"Anyone who has seen that awful footage of that young man pleading for his life would want to express their disgust at the crime that was committed. I don't think there's a clearer case of man's inhumanity to man. I'm proud of the stance the players are taking in standing up and saying we want justice for George Floyd.
“In every conversation you have with everyone, they talk about events there [in the US]. The reality is that what we saw there [Floyd's murder] is not an isolated incident unfortunately. This incident has been so bad that it has captured the conscience of the nation, and the world. Protests are spreading all around the globe, it's not just this country or the states. People have really thought this is a tipping point. ”
