Nicola Sturgeon praises Scotland team for choosing to take the knee alongside England

Sturgeon has described the decision to show solidarity with the England side as a "good" one.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has praised the Scotland national football side for their decision to take the knee alongside England before the two sides face each other in their Euro 2020 group game at Wembley on 18 June. The Scotland side had said that they would not be taking the knee before games at the upcoming European Championships as they felt that its message has "been diluted." However, on Friday their manager Steve Clarke announced that his side would unite with their fierce rivals England in taking a knee with them before their clash with them. The England squad and Gareth Southgate have made it clear that they will take a knee before every game at the tournament this summer. Clarke said that they had decided to show solidarity with the Three Lions "in light of divisive and inaccurate comments being perpetuated by individuals and groups," and to condemn the "opportunistic false narrative being presented by some." Nicola Sturgeon has now backed the team in their decision to kneel with England, tweeting: "From kick-off at Wembley next Friday, @ScotlandNT and @EnglandFootball will be the fiercest of opponents - but before that, the players will unite in solidarity against racism. Good decision, Scotland - well done!" https://twitter.com/NicolaSturgeon/status/1403342158170669059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1403342158170669059%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.heraldscotland.com%2Fnews%2F19366434.euro-2020-nicola-sturgeon-speaks-amid-scotland-taking-knee-row%2F Scotland kick off their Euros campaign on Monday afternoon against the Czech Republic at Hampden Park in Glasgow, whilst England get their campaign underway on Sunday afternoon against Croatia. The two old enemies then face each other at 8pm on Friday 18 June at Wembley.