Gareth Southgate says his England players are "role models" as a row simmered over the team's decision to take the knee at Euro 2020 to highlight the issue of racial injustice. The debate over the issue has provided an unwelcome distraction in the build-up to England's opening game against Croatia on June 13. "Our players are role models," the England boss wrote in the Players' Tribune. Southgate tried to heal a potentially divisive rift among England's support and the players. "There's something I tell our players before every England game, and the reason that I repeat it is because I really believe it with all my heart," he said.

Source: News 24 June 08, 2021 14:15 UTC