Van Aanholt: Why is racism a conversation in 2020?

The left-back said: “Why is racism even a conversation in 2020? We are all one. To still have racism in 2020 is just crazy, man. It upsets me. It hurts me.”

Van Aanholt was speaking after George Floyd’s death in police custody in Minneapolis, and the subsequent protests that have been triggered globally in the following weeks.

The left-back said: “Why is racism even a conversation in 2020? We are all one. To still have racism in 2020 is just crazy, man. It upsets me. It hurts me.”

Van Aanholt was speaking after George Floyd’s death in police custody in Minneapolis, and the subsequent protests that have been triggered globally in the following weeks.

On the protests, Van Aanholt said: “It’s good to see so much unity, and not just from black people – there have been a lot of white people there too. It’s good to see so much love and support from everyone.

“Everyone has spoken about it. Not just my teammates, even the manager, the whole club is talking about it. Everyone is upset and very disappointed and that is good. Even the white players are starting to ask how they can help more. It’s really important for us to move forward and we need unity.

“By reading more and seeing more, you will understand more and do more. It’s a good thing that we are together now and people can see it; that we are coming together so people know it’s a very serious thing.”

Van Aanholt, who has been supportive of anti-racism movements via his Twitter account, was then asked if he’d take a knee in his first game back in the Premier League.

“I’m prepared to,” he answered. “Yeah. 100%. I’ve seen it, the German teams have been doing it. I’ve seen a couple of posts on Instagram of some of the football teams doing it in training. We have a platform and it’s important that, as a global sport, football is heard because it brings so many together in different countries.”