James is a Senior Editor for GIVEMESPORT with over eight years of experience in the industry.

After graduating from the University of Southampton in 2016 with a degree in history, he joined the company as an Academy member in July 2017 and, after a short time working as a freelancer, was given a full-time role in February 2018. 

He primarily covers the biggest stories in the football world but is also comfortable reporting on a variety of other sports including darts, golf, Formula 1, tennis, boxing and athletics.

He has covered some massive events during his time at GIVEMESPORT, including numerous Champions League and World Cup finals, as well as the Olympics in 2020 and 2024.
 

Six Premier League players decided against taking the knee in this weekend's matches.

The practice of taking the knee was introduced in the Premier League in 2020. It was brought about to protest racial injustice following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in the United States.

The gesture, which is part of the Premier League's No Room For Racism Campaign, took place before every match in England's top tier until 2022, when it was decided by club captains that it would instead be displayed on a more sporadic basis.

This weekend was the first of two consecutive rounds of Premier League fixtures in which players and officials are invited to take the knee before the games kick off.

A handful of players didn't perform the gesture, though. Marc Guehi refused to do so before Manchester City's 3-2 victory over Ipswich Town.

Leeds United’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Everton’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Ipswich Town’s Issa Diop and Bournemouth duo Tyler Adams and Rayan also decided against taking the knee before their respective matches.

Marc Guehi Explains Why He Didn't Take a Knee

Man City return to Champions League action on Tuesday evening when they take on AEK Athens at Etihad Stadium. In his pre-match press conference, Guehi was asked to give his opinion on taking the knee. He replied, per the Athletic:

“I’m not sure, to be honest. The campaign and the message are still there, which is great. Can more be done? (I think) more can always be done. We have to see how we can move the campaign along.

“I don’t think it is necessarily a football issue. It is a wider societal issue, and football is that beacon of hope to try and get the message out. Whether more can be done, we’ll try. Hopefully, with the PFA and the Premier League, more can be done.”

When asked if the gesture had lost its meaning, Guehi replied: “Maybe. I haven’t been taking the knee for a while now. I will always clap because of what (the knee) signifies.

“I hope something can be done. I hope we can do a bit more. Hopefully, the message is still getting out there, which is the most important thing.”

Calvert-Lewin scored as Leeds drew 1-1 with Manchester United at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon. Leeds manager Daniel Farke addressed his actions after the match.

He told the media: “Dom is more or less like, ‘No, I don’t go down. I show my respect by standing up'. Every individual is different and shows respect for this campaign in a different way.

“It’s definitely a good campaign and a good topic that football and sports, in general, support situations like this because a dressing room is a perfect example of how we should all live together. Different passports, different languages, different religions, but they are all together as human beings and friends who work together toward one target. This is how the world should be.”