Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has praised Marcus Rashford for his efforts in forcing the UK government into a U-turn on free meals for schoolchildren, but said "uncomfortable precedents" may have been set by footballers becoming politically active during the coronavirus lockdown.
Manchester United forward Rashford's campaign for the state to fund children's meals during the summer holidays has led to Downing Street sanctioning a change in government policy.
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Manchester City's Raheem Sterling has also been outspoken on racism issues in recent weeks, while the #PlayersTogether movement, in which Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has been a central figure, has pledged to raise funds for charities connected to the National Health Service (NHS).
When Premier League fixtures return this week, there will also be player-led tributes to the NHS and the Black Lives Matter campaign, with players allowed to "take a knee" and wear the BLM slogan on the back of their shirts, in place of their names.
But with City manager Pep Guardiola fined £20,000 by the English Football Association in March 2018 for breaking regulations around political statements by wearing a yellow ribbon to support the campaign for an independent Catalan State, Masters said there could be difficult issues to address in the months ahead if players continue to speak out about political matters.
"We are comfortable, absolutely comfortable, with listening to the players where they have strong opinions and it's right that they express them," Masters said during a Skype interview with reporters. "I don't see them as being overtly political.
"We are trying to put out unifying messages. I wouldn't see what is going in terms of the messages being overtly political. I see them as ethics-based, values statements.
"I don't have all the answers, but I think we are living in unique times. What we are doing today feels like an appropriate response to where the world finds itself and the Premier League and players' voices on the issues. Whether it creates uncomfortable precedents going forward, we will wait and see."
Rashford's campaign has helped to shine a light on the positive impact of football during the COVID-19 crisis, despite players being criticised early in the lockdown by politicians who accused them of needing to do more.
And Masters said he believes the game has emerged from a three-month shutdown with its reputation enhanced, thanks to the efforts of Rashford, Sterling and others.
"I think it's fantastic," Masters said, when asked about Rashford's campaign. "Congratulations to Marcus for his perseverance.
"The way he has gone about it has clearly moved the government on a really important and heart-moving cause. Some of the criticism [of football] has been unfair. If you look at the way clubs have supported their communities, lots of players and ex-players have been getting involved.
"Players themselves have stepped up and made their opinions and voices heard on some of the issues that society is facing and I think we can look back on the last three months with some pride in the way football has responded, as an industry, to some of the challenges.
"We have been talking to the players about how they wanted to respond to the two big issues -- COVID and the response to events in America and they made clear what they wanted to do to us and we and the clubs were happy to support them, as were the PFA and LMA."