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Werder and Wolfsburg take knee for Floyd, Black Lives Matter
BERLIN, June 7, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg became
the latest teams to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter
protests sparked by the death of George Floyd when they both took a
knee ahead of their Bundesliga clash on Sunday.
Both sides’ starting elevens gathered around the centre circle at
the Weser Stadium before dropping to one knee, echoing the gesture
made by Borussia Dortmund and Hertha Berlin players and Mainz
midfielder Pierre Kunde Malong on Saturday.
With protests against police brutality and for racial equality
taking place around the world on Sunday, the Bundesliga has become a
stage for tributes to Floyd, a black American man who died last month
at the hands of police in Minneapolis.
On Saturday, Dortmund players also wore messages on their T-shirts
during their warm-up in honour of Floyd.
Jadon Sancho and Achraf Hakimi wore the messages “no justice, no
peace”, while midfielders Axel Witsel and Emre Can’s T-shirts
displayed the words “black”, “white” and “yellow” crossed out, with
the word “human” below.
Prior to their 4-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, Bayern
Munich players warmed up in T-shirts bearing both the Black Lives
Matter hashtag and the slogan of the club’s official “Reds Against
Racism” campaign.
Union Berlin’s Nigerian striker Anthony Ujah wrote in an article
for German daily FAZ that he was “proud” of the Bundesliga players who
staged on-pitch protests, and pledged to do the same if he scores
against Schalke on Sunday.
BSS/AFP/MRU/1930hrs