Jerome Boateng Urges Players To Campaign For Black Lives Matter In The Champions League

Jerome Boateng (Instagram @jeromeboateng)

JAKARTA - Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng urged the players to take action on their knees in the Champions League. Boateng asked footballers to continue to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

Boateng said players should use the platform provided by the Champions League to continue to send messages about racial equality by performing knees.

Athletes from around the world took to their knees to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter campaign that gained momentum after the death of African American George Floyd by police brutality in May.

The European Champions League, which has been suspended since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will roll out again next month.

"It is very strong and very important that we continue this in the Champions League, especially in the final, because the whole world will see," Boateng said as quoted by Antara, Thursday, July 30.

"Hopefully in some sports that haven't restarted yet, they will join us. I think this is very important," said the German.

Boateng was once a victim of racial abuse and he said he had spoken with his Bayern team-mates about issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement.

"We talked about it before the break, I actually spoke with Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka about it," said the 31-year-old.

"They asked me how to support the movement, how it felt, what happened to you when you were young, so I could tell them my story, what my experiences were and why it was so painful and difficult to hear things."

In the first leg of the last 16 against Chelsea, FC Hollywood won 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. The two teams will meet at the Allianz Arena in the second leg of August 8.