Burnley issued an apology on behalf of the fans who were responsible for the act and pledged unconditional support to the ‘Black Lives Matter movement.
Burnley's English defender Ben Mee(4R) leads the team out for the warm up ahead ofthe English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Burnley at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on June 22, 2020. (Photo by Shaun Botterill / POOL / AFP)
Burnley Football Club has condemned the “White Lives Matter Burnley” banner that flew over the Eithad Stadium during their Premier League match against Manchester City on Monday.
A plane was spotted carrying the banner over the stadium right after the players of both the teams took a knee at the start of the match to express their solidarity to the ongoing anti-racism ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement across the globe.
“Burnley Football Club strongly condemns the actions of those responsible for the aircraft and offensive banner that flew over The Etihad Stadium on Monday evening,” the club said in an official statement on Monday.
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“This, in no way, represents what Burnley Football Club stands for and we will work fully with the authorities to identify those responsible and issue lifetime bans.
“The club has a proud record of working with all genders, religions and faiths through its award-winning Community scheme, and stands against racism of any kind,” the club added.
The Turf Moor-based club issued an apology on behalf of the fans who were responsible for the offensive act and further consolidated their stand on the ‘Black Lives Matter’ anti-racism movement pledging unconditional support to the initiative.
“We are fully behind the Premier League’s Black Lives Matter initiative and, in line with all other Premier League games undertaken since Project Restart, our players and football staff willingly took the knee at kick-off at Manchester City.
“We apologise unreservedly to the Premier League, to Manchester City and to all those helping to promote Black Lives Matter,” Burnley said.
Since the resumption of Premier League after the COVID-19 hiatus, Premier League players are kneeling on one knee at the start of every match to pledge their support to the anti-racism movement that has gained traction after George Floyd was choked to death by a white police officer with a knee in Minneapolis, United States of America.
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