The World Of Football Is Sad, Hate And Angry At The Death Of George Floyd

Illustration (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba feels sad, hate and angry at the death of George Floyd and the civil unrest that occurred in the United States.

Floyd was killed after a white police officer knelt around the neck of the African-American man during his arrest in Minneapolis. The incident caused protests and riots in the city of Minnesota that has spread to other parts of the country.

Protests in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement have been staged abroad in recent days, including in London and Manchester in England.

Last Monday, United forward Marcus Rashford issued a statement in support of the movement. Pogba's teammate is now sending messages to his 41 million Instagram followers calling for an end to racism for good.

#blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/LSEeQ61YRz

- Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) June 1, 2020

"Over the last few days I have been thinking about how to express my feelings about what happened in Minneapolis. I feel angry, sorry, hateful, angry, sick, sad," Pgba wrote on Instagram.

"Sadness for George and for all the black people who suffer from racism EVERYDAY! Be it in football, at work, at school, ANYWHERE!

"It must stop, for good! Not tomorrow or the day after, it must end TODAY!

"Violent acts of racism can no longer be tolerated. I cannot tolerate. I will not tolerate. WE WILL NOT TOLERATE.

"Racism is ignorance. LOVE is intelligence. STOP silence. STOP racism."

Pogba's post came hours after Liverpool players knelt around Anfield's center circle and tweeted the image with the caption "Unity is strength".

Unity is strength #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/BLsTHfOnPT

- James Milner (@JamesMilner) June 1, 2020

Unity is strength #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/wWCi2iaBBt

- Virgil van Dijk (@VirgilvDijk) June 1, 2020

At the weekend, Jadon Sancho celebrated his first of Borussia Dortmund's three goals against Paderborn with a shirt that read, "Justice for George Floyd", while Marcus Thuram of Borussia Monchengladbach knelt on one knee after scoring against Union Berlin.

First professional hat trick 🙏🏼. A bittersweet moment personally as there are more important things going on in the world today that we must address and help make a change. We have to come together as one & fight for justice. We are stronger together! ❤️ #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/ntOtwOySCO

- Jadon Sancho (Sanchooo10) May 31, 2020

On Monday, former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure said he felt "very proud" to see the protesters in Manchester speak so loudly.

"We all have a responsibility to challenge racism," he wrote on Twitter. "Racism is a problem for EVERYONE. WE HAVE TO FIGHT IT TOGETHER."

I saw these pictures of Manchester and felt very proud. We ALL have a responsibility to challenge racism. Racism is a problem for ALL people. WE have to fight it TOGETHER ✊🏾✊🏻✊🏿 # JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/HpwgdvJjqW

- Yaya Touré (@YayaToure) June 1, 2020