‘White Lives Matter’ banner flown above Etihad Stadium; Burnley slams fans

Manchester, June 23 (IANS) Burnley FC captain Ben Mee has admitted he was ashamed and embarrassed by a message saying ‘White Lives Matter Burnley which was flown over the Etihad Stadium during their match against Manchester City on Monday.

The banner was towed by an aircraft over the home of Manchester City just after kick-off in the Clarets’ Premier League return.

The Clarets’ players — who went on to lose 0-5 — were visibly upset by the sight of the message attached to the Burnley name being trailed across the sky and which was captured by broadcasters and national media covering the game.

At half-time, the club issued a statement of condemnation with Mee saying: “I’m ashamed and embarrassed that a small number of our fans have decided to put that around the stadium.”

“They have completely missed the point and there’s a group of lads in there who are embarrassed to see that.

“It’s not what we are about at all and has missed the whole point of what we’ve achieved and what we’re trying to do (through backing the Black Lives Movement).

“These people need to educate themselves – as a lot of us do – and, like I said, it completely missed the point of the whole thing we’re trying to achieve.

“It does not represent what we’re about, the club’s about, the players are about and what the majority of fans are about, I’m sure. It’s a small minority of people and I’m really upset that happened.

“I’m ashamed and upset it’s associated with our club – my club – and it’s not something we want to see at all in the game. We totally condemn it and are embarrassed by it,” he added.

Both Burnley and City were wearing shirts with the players’ names replaced with ‘Black Lives Matter’. They had also taken a knee in support of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, which was started following the death of George Floyd in US on May 25.

–IANS

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