Taking a knee before matches should carry on because “if it continues, you can’t ignore it”, says former Queens Park Rangers defender Nedum Onuoha.
QPR and Coventry City did not carry out the gesture at their game last Friday.
But it remains part of the Black Lives Matter movement in the US, where Onuoha now plays for Real Salt Lake.
“I think the knee will be the start, more people will get involved and will be bringing in change rather than solely talking about it,” Onuoha said.
QPR’s director of football Les Ferdinand said that the impact of taking a knee “has been diluted”, adding it “has reached a point of ‘good PR’ but little more than that. The message has been lost.”
However, speaking to The Friday Football Social on BBC Radio 5 Live, Onuoha, 33, said: “Les is perfectly entitled to his opinion, but even if 50% of people that kneel don’t believe in it, they’re still kneeling, and as a consequence it can still be a topic of conversation. Even if it’s diluted, it’s still a message in itself.
“It’s good that QPR are doing things in the community and trying to help whoever needs help, but the general population don’t see that, they don’t know that’s a thing. (BBC)