Robert Lewandowski gestures to Poland fans who booed England for taking knee

As Poland hosted England at the Warsaw National Stadium on Thursday, a section of the crowd booed while the England players took a knee. The English players have followed the practice of taking the knee to mark their stance against racial discrimination. As the booing grew louder, Robert Lewandowski could be seen pointing to the word 'Respect' written on his sleeve in an indication of his support to the English players. 

The Polish supporters earlier showed some dignity as they clapped and showed respect to England’s national anthem. But things changed very soon when Gareth Southgate's XI took a knee, with boos echoing around the stadium in the Polish capital. As the television cameras zeroed in on Lewandowski, the Polish captain opted to gesture to his arm, which backfired on the people who admire him. England's players, unfazed by the booing audience, proceeded to take the knee as their public show of protest persisted.

The Three Lions were booed for taking the knee for the second time in a week, having been targeted by a hostile Hungarian crowd in identical circumstances in Budapest on Thursday, September 2. Despite being booed by supporters both at home and abroad, England has stated several times that they will continue to take the knee. It is also reported that as the game progressed, monkey chants were directed towards English players Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham

After defeating Hungary by 4-0, Southgate spoke about the issue, "Everybody knows what we stand for as a team and that's completely unacceptable. Everything has been reported to UEFA and we have to see what happens from there. There's no more that this group of players -- and all the staff in fairness -- could do in the fight against racism. We're trying to uphold our part of it and other people have got to take the right action to try and make progress.

He continued, "I don't think our players can do anything more than they have done in the last two or three years to get the right messages out, to take the right stands and it is for other people to protect them. It is for me to protect them in the main but for the authorities to protect them as well” as told in a post-match news conference.

World Cup qualifiers: Poland vs England 

Gareth Southgate's side were left heartbroken in the 92nd minute after substitute Damian Szymanski headed in from close range after Harry Kane's 30-yard stunner had opened the scoring. After Harry Kane's long-range screamer in the 18th minute, they appeared to be on pace for their sixth consecutive qualification victory. However, a minute into stoppage time, Damian Szymanski blasted a header past Jordan Pickford to secure a point. England leads European Group I by four points, with four games remaining, while Poland sits at the third position with 11 points.

Image: AP