England manager Gareth Southgate unhappy with fans jeering players taking the knee

England boss Gareth Southgate did not shy away from passing comments towards the fans during the England vs Austria friendly at the Riverside Stadium. A few English supporters were reportedly booing England’s players who took the knee ahead of kickoff. The Three Lions head coach believes that the importance of the message of taking the knee ahead of the kick-off of every game was "lost" after supporters jeered towards the players' gesture on Wednesday.

The incident took place on the brink of kickoff as a section of fans were heard booing the players for taking the knee ahead of kickoff. However, the situation didn't escalate much after the booing was drowned by loud cheers as around 7,000 England football supporters got to see the Three Lions play football from inside the stadium after 563 days, having last seen them play against Kosovo.

Speaking about the incident, the Three Lion Head coach revealed how the booing felt like “criticism”, citing how the reason behind the players taking the knee has been misunderstood. Adding how he was “pleased to hear it get drowned out by the majority of the crowd", the 50-year-old manager mentioned that "the fact that it happened cannot be denied." He also hoped that the reaction does not continue in the upcoming European Championship matches whenever the English team takes to the field and takes the knee ahead of kickoff.

England went on to edge out a narrow win in their first warm-up game leading to the upcoming Euro 2020 as Bukayo Saka scored the only goal of the game finding the back of the net at the 57th minute of the match. However, England injury news revealed that right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold suffered from a thigh injury in the latter stages of the contest. The Liverpool star will now be assessed for the next few days before Southgate takes any decision on his inclusion for the European Championship.

England vs Austria highlights

England Euro 2020 schedule

Following the win over Austria, the Three Lions take a four-day break before locking horns against Romania in yet another international friendly ahead of their European Championship campaign opener against Croatia. England host the 2018 World Cup finalists at the Wembley Stadium in London and follow it up with their second league match against Scotland at the same venue. Their third and final league clash of the Euro 2020 comes against the Czech Republic with the Three Lions aiming to qualify for the knockout stages of the tournaments. Gareth Southgate & co. will be looking to break all barriers and will aim to feature in the final of Euro 2020 scheduled to be played in London with the goal of lifting the European Championship title in front of home fans on 11 July.