Dortmund and Hertha Berlin take the knee for Black Lives Matter as Bayern wear black armbands in solidarity
Borussia Dortmund and Hertha Berlin players showed solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement before their Bundesliga clash on Saturday by taking a knee on the pitch.
Players from both teams all took a knee around the centre circle of Dortmund's Westfalenstadion before kick-off, with coaches and staff from the clubs also kneeling on the sidelines.
Dortmund and Hertha's act of solidarity follows worldwide protests after the death of American citizen George Floyd, an unarmed black man, Minneapolis on May 25.
The US has seen a wave of protests across multiple cities and states, with the movement spreading across the globe amid outrage at the nature of Floyd's death after a police officer kneeled on Floyd's neck for at least eight minutes.
The officer in question, Derek Chauvin, has since been fired from the force and charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, while three other officers who were previously uncharged now face counts of aiding and abetting murder.
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich warmed up for their match at Bayer Leverkusen earlier in the day by wearing anti-racism T-shirts.
Bayern wore black armbands with the message 'Black Lives Matter' on them, while Leverkusen's players also wore black armbands as thousands of people across Germany attended anti-racism demonstrations.
The on-field protests come after the German FA (DFB) confirmed earlier this week that players such as Jadon Sancho would not be punished for showing support for Black Lives Matter in the last round of fixtures.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
