“When it happens we will do it too out of a feeling of solidarity with the other team.” Captain Chiellini announced it regarding the gesture of solidarity with Black Lives Matter before the matches. Those were the minutes before the match against Austria, but when the opponents did not kneel.
Against Lukaku’s Belgium in the quarter-finals of these European Championships, however, the opponents will be on their knees in the pre-match. And Italy, following what has been announced, will do the same. It will be the first time it will happen with the whole team lined up, not like against Wales where only 5 players (Belotti, Chiesa, Bernardeschi, Toloi and Emerson) participated.
«The messages of the Federation – declared the number one of Italian football Gravina – are clear and have always been: we carry out every activity against all forms of racism. We believe that specifically there can be no indication of federal policy, everyone chooses for himself. We talked about it with the team on the eve of the match against Wales: someone got down on their knees, others applauded, just as the audience applauded ». The decision taken is the one described by captain Chiellini. Against Belgium we will see the Azzurri on their knees.