Premier League players to continue taking the knee in 2026/27 season
Premier League players are set to continue taking the knee during the forthcoming 2026/27 campaign, following fresh discussions among club captains, reports BritPanorama.
The anti-racism gesture, which has become a fixture of English football’s calendar, is anticipated to be performed on two occasions during October’s Black History Month as part of the league’s No Room for Racism programme. This decision mirrors the approach adopted in recent seasons, with captains once again driving the conversation about how to demonstrate football’s opposition to discrimination.
However, the move comes amid ongoing questions regarding the effectiveness of the symbolic act in combating racism. For two years, players knelt before every Premier League fixture after the gesture first emerged in British football in 2020, born out of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement following George Floyd’s death while in American police custody.
That practice was scaled back in August 2022, leading to the decision for the knee to be confined to selected occasions, specifically during the league’s No Room for Racism match rounds, coinciding with Black History Month. The gesture’s value remains a matter of contention, especially after the majority of Women’s Super League clubs opted not to kneel during Black History Month fixtures in the 2025/26 season, citing a loss of significance amid increasing incidents of racism.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has defended the initiative. “The Premier League and our clubs strongly believe that football is for everyone,” he stated last season, maintaining a commitment to addressing racism within the sport. He added, “We remain steadfast in our belief that there is no place for racism in football and wider society. We will continue to support players and others within the game who are subjected to this unacceptable abuse, and will do all we can to ensure action is taken against those responsible.”
Further underscoring the ongoing issues, Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo faced racial abuse during the Premier League’s curtain-raiser at Anfield last season, serving as a stark reminder that discrimination persists at the highest levels of English football. This problem has not been confined to the men’s domestic league; England defender Jess Carter experienced online racist abuse during Euro 2025, prompting the Lionesses to abandon the gesture for the tournament’s semi-final and final.
In a landscape where gestures are often scrutinised for their impact, the upcoming campaign’s commitment to taking the knee presents both a continuity of solidarity and a challenge to truly measure its effect against the backdrop of persistent racism in football. Ultimately, as players persist in taking this stance, the efficacy of such gestures may raise more questions about the broader fight against discrimination than it answers.
