Pioli: I would take the knee to support Black Lives Matter campaign

There was controversy as only five Italian players took the knee to support the

Black Lives Matter

movement before their match against Wales in

. The FIGC then announced that Italy would kneel before their game against Belgium, out of respect for their opponents, but without sharing the Black Lives Matter campaign.

coach

Stefano Pioli

, however, said that he would take the knee to support the movement.

“I would take the knee,”

Pioli said in an interview with Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Milan have started their pre-season at Milanello and are going to play their first Champions League game after seven years.

“We must not set limits for ourselves, but it will be a difficult season because there will be seven teams fighting for the top four,”

the coach said.

“Strangely, the spark between us was born in the Zoom meetings during the first lockdown.

“We took the time to get to know each other, we talked about our lives. Not just about football. That’s how this group was born.

“The group is crucial, Italy won the Euros because you could see the team spirit in their eyes. You don’t win with tactics, you win by putting the group ahead of yourself.

“Ibrahimovic has helped me a lot, he is an example in everything he does. He demands the best from himself and the others. Zlatan and Simon [Kjaer] have changed the team, not just technically, but especially in the moral sense.”

After Milan announced that their CEO

Ivan Gazidis

has been diagnosed with throat cancer, Pioli said that everybody supports him at Milan.

“His strength is our strength, we are proud of being part of his family. He will recover and we are looking forward to having him with us,” Pioli said.

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