Arsenal kick Slavia Prague and racism out of Europa League

The start of Thursday’s quarter-final second leg featuring Arsenal and Slavia Prague saw the Gunners take a knee in unison. This gesture has been implemented since the start of last season’s Premier League season, to signify that all players unite as one against racism and stand with the principle that black lives matter.

The Gunners decided to take a knee in the manner they did – with Alexandre Lacazette knelt facing the Czech side – before the start of the game to show their support to Rangers’ Glen Kamara, who was subjected to racial abuse by Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela in the round prior to this meeting.

Kudela was given a 10-match ban, one that saw him miss both legs of the quarter-finals. It’s a questionable length of time given that is the minimum sentence UEFA could offer and, like many others, I feel is not enough. Kudela should be banned from ever playing professional football again. If a player is found guilty of racial abuse, they should not handed a second chance.

UEFA had the chance to make a statement.

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1382814045925949440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Arsenal kick Slavia Prague and racism out of Europa League as Alexandre Lacazette score twice in 4-0 Europa League quarter-final win

I am not the only person who feels this way. Arsenal’s Brazilian Willian, who did not feature in the match on Thursday, has been a victim on racial abuse online and felt very strongly on the topic before the Slavia fixture.

"“After that I said to myself ‘enough is enough’ and I have to try something to take action against racism and online abuse. And I’m proud because the club they are doing that. They are helping us a lot. I will never stop my fight against racism,” Willian told the official Arsenal website."

Arsenal is a club with no tolerance for racism, and that is the same for their supporters. Social media exploded with Arsenal fans writing on timelines with variations of ‘this win is for Glen’. What the team did both before and on the pitch was a source of great pride.

Along with the players, their leader Mikel Arteta supported his team in making a statement against racial abuse, displaying the organization’s commitment to fighting racial injustice in football and the world.

Lacazette was the central figure of the picture, demonstrating the leader he is on and off the field. The Frenchman understands the importance of making a gesture like this on such a big stage; it brings attention to the issue on a global scale.

This was a very powerful message to the world. Hopefully it will be an example for clubs in the future to speak out against racism and take stand. Arsenal supported a player who wasn’t even in their squad. They supported him because the simply fact that we are all human. Taking a knee is not for one individual, it’s for all those suffering racial injustice.

With athletes being in the limelight they can so easily be targeted for online abuse in all its disgusting forms, and it was great to see Arsenal and the community fight against it over the past couple of weeks.

Oh, and Arsenal won 4-0, onto the semi-finals.