England: Gareth Southgate slams fans who booed players taking a knee

Jude Bellingham and Tyrone Mings take a knee before England's game on Wednesday

Gareth Southgate says "some people aren't understanding the message" after some fans booed when England players took a knee before their friendly match on Wednesday.

Some boos spread around Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium before kick-off against Austria but were drowned out by applause from other supporters.

"I was pleased it was drowned out by the majority of the crowd but we can't deny it happened," said Southgate.

Players have been taking a knee to highlight racial injustice.

England and Aston Villa star Jack Grealish also spoke out against the booing after the match: "I heard it and I didn't like it at all. None of the players liked it... It's a thing we don't want in football in general and especially in our games."

What is taking a knee?

Teammates joined Kaepernick (pictured centre) in his protest during the American national anthem

The first person to take a knee was American Football quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016.

He didn't like standing during the US national anthem before matches because he said he was "not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour."

After speaking with war veteran and former NFL player, Nate Boyer, he decided to kneel during the national anthem instead because he thought it was more respectful than sitting down.

Following the death of unarmed black man, George Floyd, in 2020, taking a knee became far more commonplace at demonstrations for racial equality around the world.

Players taking the knee before a football game in the Championship

Since June 2020, all Premier League and English Football League clubs have been taking a knee before each match.

There has been lots of debate about whether footballers taking a knee is effective at bringing about racial equality.

Crystal Palace player Wilfried Zaha decided to stop taking a knee in February saying that footballers should instead "stand tall" against racism.

But England manager, Gareth Southgate, has said that the gesture remains extremely powerful and has not lost its message.

What did Gareth Southgate say about the booing?

A total of 7,000 supporters watched England in the ground for the first time in 563 days because of the coronavirus pandemic not allowing fans in stadiums.

Speaking of the booing, Southgate added: "It's not something on behalf of our black players that I wanted to hear because it feels as though it is a criticism of them.

"I think the most important thing for our players to know is that all their team-mates and all the staff are fully supportive.

"I think the majority of people understand it. I think some people aren't quite understanding the message and I suppose we are seeing that across a number of football grounds at the moment."

England won the game 1-0 thanks to Bukayo Saka's second-half goal.

They face Romania in their second friendly on Sunday before starting their European Championship campaign against Croatia on 13 June.