Top-flight football captains convened on Thursday and resolved to maintain the anti-racism knee gesture, though limiting it to just two fixtures during October's Black History Month celebrations.
This verdict arrives merely weeks after the England Women's squad ceased the practice, citing diminished effectiveness following racist attacks on defender Jess Carter during the European Championship.
The captains' determination means the Premier League remains among the few competitions still featuring the symbolic act, which began five years ago during the pandemic.
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The gesture will feature exclusively during matches connected to the league's No Room for Racism initiative, marking a substantial reduction from previous seasons when players knelt before numerous fixtures throughout the campaign.
The Lionesses abandoned their decision to take the knee throughout the European Championship halfway through the tournament
|PA
The Lionesses revealed their decision to abandon the gesture following the semi-final and final matches at Euro 2025, where they stood rather than knelt before their extra-time triumph against Italy and penalty victory over Spain.
Carter faced a barrage of racist messages during the competition, with much of the abuse directed at the squad's social media accounts, according to reports.
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The team issued a joint declaration before the Italy match, stating: "Representing our country is the greatest honour. It is not right that while we are doing that, some of us are treated differently simply because of the colour of our skin."
They added: "It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism. We have agreed as a squad to remain standing before kick‑off on Tuesday."
The practice emerged in English football during the 2020 health crisis, following the killing of George Floyd, an African American man who died at the hands of a US police officer.
Initially, participants knelt before each Premier League fixture for two consecutive campaigns, though the ritual sparked debate due to associations with the Black Lives Matter organisation and its police defunding advocacy.
The frequency decreased significantly three years ago, when authorities restricted the gesture to opening and closing matchdays, Boxing Day fixtures, two anti-discrimination rounds, plus domestic cup finals.
Further reductions followed, with five designated rounds in the subsequent campaign and merely four last season.
The Women's Super League adopted the practice at the beginning of the 2021/22 campaign, whilst England's male squad discontinued it following the 2022 World Cup.
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Premier League matches will continue to see players take the knee but only for two games
|PA
The announcement prompted varied responses from prominent figures and organisations within football and politics.
Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright expressed his view during ITV coverage: "I think the decision to take the knee should always have been a personal thing. If you want to take the knee, take it. It was almost forced on people."
He continued: "If I was playing now and with everything the knee represents – if you go back to Colin Kaepernick and injustice and inequality and everything that goes with it – I would still take the knee. Even if I had to do it on my own."
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage offered a contrasting perspective, declaring: "Thank goodness the crazy gesture is over."
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Ian Wright insisted the decision to take the knee should have always been a personal one, not a mandatory one
| Sky SportsAnti-discrimination groups presented differing viewpoints, with Kick It Out supporting players' autonomy in choosing their anti-racism demonstrations.
Lucy Bronze articulated the squad's reasoning, questioning whether the gesture retained its original power: "We feel as a collective, is the message as strong as it used to be? Is the message really hitting hard? Because, to us, it feels like it's not, if these things are still happening to our players in the biggest tournaments of their lives."
The defender emphasised the team's commitment to leveraging their platform: "We know we're never helpless as players and our voices are loud enough to be heard by people around the world, whether that is social media platforms or federations like Uefa and Fifa."
Piara Powar from European anti-discrimination organisation Fare defended the gesture, calling it "a powerful anti-racist act" and praising the Lionesses for their sustained leadership across Europe.