Guehi stands during Premier League anti-racism weekend and calls for 'more to be done'

Marc Guehi stood rather than took the knee during the Premier League’s No Room For Racism initiative weekend, becoming one of six players to do so and calling on the league and the PFA to find more effective ways to combat racism.

The Manchester City centre-back was joined by Issa Diop, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Bournemouth pair Rayan and Tyler Adams in standing while the majority of players kneeled on Saturday. The gesture had been pre-agreed for two weekends in October as part of the league’s anti-racism campaign.

Guehi, who said he had not been taking the knee for some time, acknowledged the action — first introduced into the Premier League six years ago — had “maybe” lost its meaning, though he was careful to separate his personal stance from any rejection of the campaign’s underlying message.

“I’d always clap just because of what that actually signifies,” he said. “But in terms of if something can be done, hopefully. I hope we can do a bit more. But we’ll just see. Hopefully the message is still getting out there, which is the most important. I feel like the campaign is still there, which is great. The message is still there, which is great. However, more can be done. More can always be done.”

Guehi added that he viewed racism as a broader societal problem rather than a football-specific one, but said the sport had a responsibility to lead. “I don’t think it’s necessarily a football issue. I think it’s a wider societal issue. Football is just that beacon of hope to try and get the message out. But whether more can be done, we’ll try. Hopefully with the PFA, with the league, to see what can be done.”

Guehi is not the first prominent player to question the gesture’s effectiveness. Former Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha previously said he preferred to “stand tall” and show pride in being Black, while ex-Brentford striker Ivan Toney argued that taking the knee allowed those in power to feel they had acted without driving real change. “We are kind of being used as puppets, in my eyes,” Toney said. “Take the knee and the people at the top can rest for a while now, which is pretty silly and pretty pointless. Nothing is changing.”