Taking the knee has been adopted as an anti-racism gesture in the United States in the previous years, and after several incidents around the world, Premier League footballers embraced the movement throughout the 2020/21 campaign.

Moreover, the national teams of England, Wales and Belgium have been taken the knee prior to their matches at Euro 2020, with some players from the opposition sides supporting it as well.

Before Italy’s encounter against Wales, five Azzurri stars decided to support the gesture, going down to one knee. These players are Federico Bernardeschi, Andrea Belotti, Emerson Palmieri, Matteo Pessina and Rafael Toloi.

Therefore, a debate has been sparked about whether Roberto Mancini’s men will embrace the movement of not.

This issue has been an object of debate all around the world – especially in Britain – as some are calling to put an end to it (describing it as fruitless) whilst others continue to see the necessity behind it.

According to ANSA and Sky Sport Italia via Football Italia, Sources in the Italy camp claim they will take the knee if the other team does so out of ‘solidarity,’ albeit still believing ‘racism should be fought in a different way.’

Italy’s next opponents, Austria, have not requested a moment before kickoff to take the knee, therefore, there won’t be a pause from referee Anthony Taylor.

However, the source says that “going forward in the competition, if there should be a team that wants to do this, the Azzurri group will join in out of solidarity and sensibility, albeit maintaining the conviction that racism should be fought in a different way.”

Thus, it seems that the Italian team has put this fireball in someone else’s court