LONDON—English Premier League (EPL) jerseys will no longer feature a Black Lives Matter (BLM) badge, which has been replaced by the competition’s own No Room For Racism campaign branding.
The change was announced after a league call with club captains on Thursday, two days before the start of the season.
The BLM logo was placed on shirts following global protests in support of the movement sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota in May.
“Players rightly have a strong voice on this matter, which we saw last season,” league Chief Executive Richard Masters said. “We have continued to talk and listen to players on this issue and will support them, as well as continuing to emphasize the Premier League’s position against racism.
“Discrimination in any form, anywhere, is wholly unacceptable and No Room For Racism makes our zero-tolerance stance clear. We will not stand still on this important issue and we will continue to work with our clubs, players and partners to address all prejudiced behavior.”
The league said it would continue backing players taking a knee before kickoff.
Newcastle, meanwhile, accused the Premier League’s leadership of acting inappropriately in rejecting a takeover bid involving a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund and said it would be considering “all relevant options available.”
The English club’s statement comes more than a month after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced it was withdrawing and criticized the “unforeseeably prolonged process.”
The league blocked the takeover after concerns were raised about piracy of game broadcasts by a rogue operation in Saudi Arabia and human-rights abuses in the kingdom.
Masters said last month that the consortium was asked for more details about which entity would have control of the club so an assessment could be made about any possible disqualifying criteria. Masters said an offer of an independent arbitral tribunal was rejected by the bidders.
The British-based Reuben brothers and financier Amanda Staveley were also part of the PIF bid, planning to each buy the remaining 10-percent stakes. AP
Image credits: AP