FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – Europa League – Round of 16 First Leg – Olympiacos v Wolverhampton Wanderers – Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece – March 12, 2020. Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Nuno Espirito Santo reacts. REUTERS/Costas Baltas
June 24, 2020
(Reuters) – Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Nuno Espirito Santo has said the worldwide support for the ‘Black Lives Matter’ campaign is a sign of progress in the fight against discrimination, though it will take time to bring about a change in culture.
The Premier League has joined the international movement to protest racial injustice following the death of George Floyd, a Black man, while in Minneapolis police custody last month.
However, a plane carrying a banner reading, ‘White Lives Matter Burnley’ flew over Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium at the start of their match against Burnley on Monday.
“We are at the beginning of something. It is very difficult to change culture and very difficult to change feelings,” Santo told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s match against Bournemouth.
“A lot of people are changing, which is a good sign. All the generations are asking themselves now that, what they did in the past, maybe they could do it in a different way. That is a sign of difference.
“This is not the moment to stop. It will take time but humanity will eventually reach this point among us.”
Santo, the only manager from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background in the English top flight, added: “It is very difficult for me because I don’t feel it. I come from a mixed race family.
“The message is clear. It is not about race. It is about equal rights.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru;Editing by Peter Rutherford)
