GB News star Nana Akua found herself in a furious clash on The People’s Channel with former Premier League star Jason Cundy over the division’s vow to bring back taking the knee.
For six matchday weekends out of the 38 that will take place this season, Premier League stars will be invited to drop to one knee in a symbolic gesture against racism.
The gesture has accrued criticism in recent years given its relation to the divisive Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, but Cundy argued on GB News that world famous stars like Mo Salah and Kevin De Bruyne dropping to one knee is still getting the intended meaning across in an effective manner.
Nana disagreed, however, and argued the move is simply a virtue-signal and does little to address the core root of racism, which sometimes rears its ugly head in England’s top football division.
Jason Cundy clashed with Nana Akua on GB News
GB NEWS
“I don’t even know why they started [taking the knee]”, she said.
“It’s an empty gesture. It came from BLM which proved to be a fraudulent organisation.
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Wilfried Zaha was one of the Premier League stars to rally against the gesture, claiming it lost its impact
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“The FA are so rich. If they really wanted to stamp out racism they could invest some money into it. How many managers are black? At the top of the FA, I think it’s about nought point six per cent black people.”
Cundy responded: “It’s actually the Premier League doing this. We have been brilliant trying to stamp out racism but there is still more to be done.
“But we saw with the Argentina Copa America squad how there are parts of this world that are still spouting racism and still think it’s acceptable.
“The Premier League is the most watched in the world and I think this is a part of the game the Premier League realises they have a voice.
Patrick Christys was forced to step in as tensions boiled over
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“Many have decided not to do this but it’s because they know not enough is being done. If you look at what is still going on, the Premier League have realised their voice can be heard.
“But on top of that, what more can be done? There is still plenty to be done.”
Cundy, who used to play for Tottenham, said Nana made “valid” points but “it can only be a good thing” racism is being discussed.
“The Argentinian national side to be singing racist songs about the French team tells me the message is still not getting across.
Premier League stars used to take the knee on a regular basis, but this season it will just be six matchday weeks out of 38
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“Nana, I think you are being a bit small-minded.”
The pair then squabbled for the floor as they started speaking over each other, causing Patrick Christys to intervene and call for “one at a time”.
Cundy accused Nana of “having a pop at football”, a point she strongly refuted.
“I’m not. I am talking about racism. It’s serious, if you think bending down on one knee stops it, it doesn’t”, she said.
The GB News star also said football executives are not doing enough to quell the problem of racism.
Cundy argued racism is a societal issue and not one football chiefs are able to influence themselves.
“Why are you relying on people bending down on one knee to say ‘I am so good?’”, she asked.
“You’re not a football fan, are you Nana?”, Cundy asked. “I don’t go to football games, but that is not true”, the GB News star responded.
“This is my point. Trying to prove racism in an 80,000-seater stadium is not as easy as you would make out. You’re talking garbage.”