LONDON (Bywire News) - Lewis’ comments came in response to Andrew Bridgen on yesterday’s BBC Politics Live, after the Tory MP claimed that footballers who take the knee support Black Lives Matter.
Bridgen claimed the movement "stands for defunding the police, opening the prisons, opening the borders, smashing Western capitalism".
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However, Martin Lewis pointed out that "there are members of the far-right who use the English flag as a symbol of far-right support, but I'm sure you won't agree that we should ban that [flags] from being waved at English football matches."
Lewis then went on to explain that taking the knee is not synonymous with any organisation, but is "an anti-racist action."
"Symbols are used by many people - we need to listen to why they say they're taking the knee, which is an anti-racist action that I think we can all support," he added.
He also said he does not believe that BLM is a "front for Marxism" and questioned why people would think football player "multimillionaires" would support Marxism.
He said, "These are multimillionaires who I don't think are trying to espouse some radical Marxist Black Lives Matters [...] that's not what Black Lives Matter is, but that's what they've been accused by some of being the front for Marxism, I don't tend to believe that and I certainly don't think that that's what those footballers think."
If people disagree with football players choosing to kneel before kick-off, Lewis suggests that fans should "stand there silently with their hands by their side" and that booing the football players "is not a good symbol".
(Writing by Jess Miller, editing by Klaudia Fior)