Manchester City defender Marc Guéhi believes the gesture of soccer players taking the knee before matches might have lost its impact and wants to see more done in the sport's fight against racism.
Guéhi, who is Black, didn't take the knee prior to kickoff in City's home game against Ipswich in the Premier League on Saturday in the first of two rounds of games dedicated to the competition's "No Room For Racism" campaign.
It isn't the first time Guéhi refused to perform the gesture, which was introduced in June 2020 to show support for the Black Lives Matter campaign.
Since the start of the 2022-23 season, the Premier League decided against taking the knee ahead of every match, with players instead invited to do so on certain occasions each season.
Marc Guéhi opted against taking the knee during Man City's match against Ipswich. Kate McShane/Getty Images Speaking Monday at a news conference the day before City's Champions League match against AEK Athens, Guéhi said it was "great" that the Premier League's anti-racism campaign was continuing.
"Whether more can be done -- more can always be done," he said. "We have to see how we can move the campaign along.
"I don't think it's necessarily a football issue. I think it's a wider societal issue and football is that beacon of hope to try to get the message out. But whether more can be done, we will try, hopefully with the PFA [English footballer's players union,] with the league."
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Asked whether taking the knee had lost its meaning, Guéhi said: "Maybe. I haven't been taking the knee for a while now, to be honest. I'd always clap, just because of what that actually signifies."
He didn't go into any more detail about his reasons for not taking the knee.