Christian Eriksen to defy Denmark’s political storm by taking knee with England

Christian Eriksen will join England in taking a knee – despite a fierce political row in Denmark.

Former Tottenham midfielder Eriksen says the Danish players want to support the anti-racism protest after he said the English FA asked them to back the Black Lives Matter campaign on Tuesday night.

But a storm has been brewing in Denmark as Morten Messerschmidt, Deputy Chairman of the Danish People’s Party, has said it is “dangerous” to mix sport and politics and says it should be “everybody’s team.”

That has caused a huge debate in the country ahead of England’s Nations League game with Denmark in Copenhagen but the players want to take the knee.

Inter Milan star Eriksen, who also took the knee before their game in Belgium on Saturday night, said: “I do not see why it should be a problem of any kind at all. We all support the fight against all forms of racism.

“And if it can create a little extra focus, then I think we could do it.”

Denmark’s Borussia Dortmund midfielder Thomas Delaney also insisted it was a “no brainer” and they should do it no matter the consequences after the game.

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Delaney said: “I think it is quite nice that politics and sports – when we are in such situations here at least – are mixed together.

“It was a wish from the English, which we support. This is the information that we have decided on. So we have to see what happens afterwards.

“As I said, it was the wish of the English. They had asked UEFA if we wanted to join it, and we would very much like that.”

Meanwhile, Eriksen insists Denmark must improve before facing England after their 2-0 defeat in Belgium on Saturday.

He added: “Belgium is a strong team, and they have shown that for several years. They scored an early goal and it forced us further on the field. We arrived on the field, but we should have created more.

“If we had made some wiser decisions, we could have come up with more. We must learn from this match towards the next match.”

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