Real Madrid midfielder Marcelo has expressed his happiness to see people talking about the plights of racism and urged everyone to “start making real changes” after he “took a knee” in Real Madrid’s La Liga game against Eibar.
“Happy to be back with @realmadrid! Happy to have scored a goal! But even happier to see all the CHANGES in the World! Now It’s time. We must use the power we have and start making real CHANGES,” Vieira wrote on Instagram.
Marcelo knelt down on one knee after scoring a goal on Sunday to express his solidarity to the ongoing anti-racism movements in several parts of the world which started after a black civilian was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, United States of America.
George Floyd, aged 46, was choked to death by officer Derek Chauvin. He held Floyd down with a knee on his neck though he repeatedly pleaded, “I can’t breathe,” and “please, I can’t breathe”.
To condemn the brutal action of the officer, protesters have made bending knees as a symbol of the current anti-racism movement.
The action has been prevalent in sports as well. NFL player Colin Kapernick had knelt during the national anthem, before one of the games in 2016. His action triggered a movement and black players across many teams had resorted to kneeling during the national anthem to protest against the police brutality and racism.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, closed the gap between FC Barcelona to two scores with a 3-1 win at home to Eibar in La Liga. First-half goals from Tony Kroos, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo gave Zinedine Zidane’s side all three points in the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium on Sunday evening, where they will play out the rest of the season, reports Xinhua news agency.
Kroos opened the scoring in the fourth minute after good work from Karim Benzema. Ramos doubled Madrid’s lead on the half-hour mark following a pass from Eden Hazard.
Marcelo sealed the points seven minutes later with a shot from inside the penalty area after Hazard’s shot had been saved.
With IANS inputs