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Premier League to display No Room For Racism instead of Black Lives Matter badges on kits

Premier League clubs and match officials will wear a No Room For Racism badge on their shirts this season and continue to take a knee after captains of the 20 top flight teams agreed with league plans to continue to acknowledge the Black Lives Matter movement.

Senior figures from the Premier League held an online discussion with the captains on Thursday and agreed that players and match officials will wear a No Room For Racism sleeve badge on their shirts in place of Black Lives Matter badges for the 2020-21 season.

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"This is the first time the badge will feature on players' and officials' kit throughout the season, and will act as a constant reminder of the commitment by the Premier League, its clubs, players and PGMOL to eradicate racism," the league said in a statement.

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said: "We, our clubs, players and match officials have a long-standing commitment to tackling discrimination.

"Players rightly have a strong voice on this matter, which we saw last season. We have continued to talk and listen to players on this issue and will support them as well as continuing to emphasise 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 behaviour."

Back in June, footballers across Europe gave voice in the campaign to raise awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement outside of the United States, as it gained worldwide attention in the wake of the death of American citizen George Floyd in police custody in May. Captains from all 20 clubs agreed on a collective recognition of the campaign.

The Premier League returns on Saturday, with Fulham's clash with Arsenal at Craven Cottage marking the start of season.