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Fans left furious at Millwall Supporters Club statement on the booing

Fans have been left furious at a Millwall Supporters Club statement on the booing towards the players for taking the knee.

Millwall Supporters Club issued a statement addressing the scenes that marred their 1-0 defeat to Derby County on Saturday afternoon, leaving Gary Rowett’s side 14th in the Championship table and the Rams in 23rd..

Before the game kicked off, players took the knee in a show of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, or as football’s governing bodies would prefer to say, the No Room For Racism campaign.

2,000 Millwall fans were in the stadium for the game, and a number of them could be heard booing as players took a knee.

The club issued a statement 19 hours after the event see what they had to say below…

Millwall Football Club was dismayed and saddened by events which marred Saturday’s game against Derby County at The Den.

The club has worked tirelessly in recent months to prepare for the return of supporters and what should have been a positive and exciting occasion was completely overshadowed, much to the immense disappointment and upset of those who have contributed to those efforts.

The impact of such incidents is felt not just by the players and management, but by those who work throughout the club and in its Academy and Community Trust, where so many staff and volunteers continue passionate endeavours to enhance Millwall’s reputation day after day, year after year.

The club will not allow their fine work to be in vain.

The players are continuing to use the biggest platform they have to support the drive for change, not just in football but in society generally.

There is much work to be done and at Millwall everyone is committed to doing all that is possible, both individually and collectively, to be a force for good and to ensure that the club remains at the forefront of football’s anti-discrimination efforts.

Over the coming days, club, Academy and Community Trust staff will meet with Kick It Out and representatives from other appropriate bodies in an attempt to use Saturday’s events as a catalyst for more rapid solutions which have an impact both in the short and long-term.

Further comment will be made once those meetings and discussions are concluded.

– STATEMENT ENDS –

And on Sunday afternoon the Millwall official supporters’ club also addressed the issue, denying that the booing of the anti-racist gesture was racist…

MILLWALL SUPPORTERS CLUB STATEMENT

As the official supporters’ club which represents all Millwall fans, our statement may to some have been delayed, but we have been determined to listen to as many different views as possible before commenting.

Yesterday’s game against Derby County was a testing day for Millwall FC and those associated with it.

We fervently believe that the motives of those behind the booing were not racist. However, at a time of heightened awareness and with the country watching, the choice of those individuals was always going to damage their club and be perceived by the media as racist.

The greatest thing it highlighted is the need for clarity and understanding on both sides of this divide.

Anyone who believes it was a racist act, should read the views of those who booed and see they were doing it in reaction to the war memorials and statues of Churchill defaced by the BLM organisation and the extreme political views they hold, and for which ‘taking the knee’ is associated with. These same fans have never booed the Kick it Out campaigns on our pitch or the huge work of the Millwall Community Trust and its many anti-racism campaigns.

Equally, anyone who booed in the ground yesterday should read the views of Mahlon Romeo and those of the Millwall players released on Friday. They chose to ‘take the knee’ to highlight the need for more anti-discrimination work and action, something Millwall has always been at the forefront of through our community work. They explicitly did not use it to support any political viewpoint or organisation and therefore the booing shows disagreement with anti-discrimination.

There is an argument that the gesture itself has run its course, none more eloquently put than our next opponents’ Director of Football, Les Ferdinand:

“The taking of the knee has reached a point of ‘good PR’ but little more than that. The message has been lost. It is now not dissimilar to a fancy hashtag or a nice pin badge.”

“What are our plans with this? Will people be happy for players to take the knee for the next ten years but see no actual progress made?”

“Taking the knee will not bring about change in the game – actions will.”

That action called for is desperately needed and the action needed was not to boo the gesture.

It is within our Millwall DNA to make The Den a hostile environment for the opposition players, not our own. We never want that to be sanitised or taken away as it is what makes us unique. But…if you are unable to create a hostile atmosphere at The Den without resorting to racist, homophobic or other discriminatory language or actions then you should make the decision not to attend.

Whilst working with Millwall Football Club over the past year in light of the incident at the Everton FA Cup game, we have jointly written and asked to be introduced as part of conditions of buying a ticket, a Fans’ Charter.

Today, we are publishing this charter and we call on the club to make this a condition of entry to the stadium and buying a ticket or membership.

We will now enter into detailed discussions with the club, staff, players and other stakeholders on how we move forward together as a club to continue the excellent work it does to tackle discrimination and use the incident yesterday to act as a catalyst for change.

Fans’ Behaviour Charter/Code of Conduct Football is a passionate game and supporters will have their own ways of expressing their support and reactions. This is acceptable and encouraged as it often adds positively to the match experience and atmosphere, especially at The Den. However, behaviour which jeopardises the safety and enjoyment of others or is likely to bring disrepute to the Club is not acceptable.

At Millwall Football Club we will not tolerate any racial, homophobic or any other kind of discriminatory language or action used as discrimination.

Discriminatory behaviour is anything that singles out a person or group from a particular audience, whether that’s on the grounds of disability, gender, age, sexuality, race or religious beliefs. This may be in the form of chanting, comments or shouting on the way to, or inside the football ground or by making comments on social media channels.

  • Supporters will not use racist, sexist, homophobic or other discriminatory language or actions.
  • Report it

ROONEY STATEMENT

Posting on Twitter, Rooney said: “Yesterday I witnessed disgraceful and mindless behaviour by a large section of the Millwall supporters in the stadium.

“Prior to the match we were aware of the possibility of a planned disruptive response during the taking of the knee in support of the BLM campaign, but nothing prepared us for what we heard.

“I was proud of my players and staff for not letting the fans deter them from continuing to present a positive and important message that taking the knee immediately before a game sends. The professionalism of the players on both sides throughout the game was a credit to our profession, after such an incident.

“We fervently believe that the motives of those behind the booing were not racist. However, at a time of heightened awareness and with the country watching, the choice of those individuals was always going to damage their club and be perceived by the media as racist,” the statement reads.

“The greatest thing it highlighted is the need for clarity and understanding on both sides of this divide.”

“Anyone who believes it was a racist act, should read the views of those who booed and see they were doing it in reaction to the war memorials and statues of Churchill defaced by the BLM organisation and the extreme political views they hold, and for which ‘taking the knee’ is associated with.

“These same fans have never booed the Kick it Out campaigns on our pitch or the huge work of the Millwall Community Trust and its many anti-racism campaigns.

“Equally, anyone who booed in the ground yesterday should read the views of Mahlon Romeo and those of the Millwall players released on Friday. They chose to ‘take the knee’ to highlight the need for more anti-discrimination work and action, something Millwall has always been at the forefront of through our community work.

“They explicitly did not use it to support any political viewpoint or organisation and therefore the booing shows disagreement with anti-discrimination.”

Fans reacted as the Millwall Supporters Club denies booing of the anti-racist gesture was racist…


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@TottenhAmerican: Lots of ignorant, embarrassing excuses included in this “statement”, but this is probably the dumbest. First, BLM is not an official “organisation”. Second, the defacing of Churchill statues was in June and has nothing do with players “taking the knee”. Pathetic. @TheMillwallFans

@jm_allen7: This is a bag of shite.

Ed Winshaw: What a backlash Millwall Supporters Club have had to their booing statement

@JaseTheVillain: I’m not racist, but…. Scummy club, scummy fans. #KickItOut #BLM

@ghosthuncho2: Trash as usual and you know it cause you blocked people from replying. I used to live in a block of flats overlooking the Den. I’m embarrassed for you and your trash fans.

@mccusker86: Gee… I wonder why the replies are turned off. Twats.

@DannySmallman: Even turned off replies… says it all about this joke of a club

@JFKennedy_97: If anyone wants a lesson in how to undo almost 30 years of trying to rectify the racism associated with your club, the Millwall supporters club have done a cracking job right here, fucking despicable:

Jason Lee: Disappointing to see some of what was said by Millwall Supporters Club and their statement on the booing

Paul Marsh: What a bloody disgrace

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