Following consultation with club captains, the Premier League decided to drop the Black Lives Matter slogan on their shirts, replacing it with the league’s own anti-racism campaign, No Room for Racism.
At the start of the new season, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) patch which was added to kits when the season re-started in the summer in wake of the global anti-racism protests sparked by the US killing of George Floyd in May will be replaced by ‘No Room for Racism’.
Richard Masters, the Premier League’s chief executive, said: “We, our clubs, players and match officials have a long-standing commitment to tackling discrimination.
“Players rightly have a strong voice on this matter, which we saw last season. We have continued to talk and listen to players on this issue and will support them as well as continuing to emphasise the Premier League’s position against racism.
“Discrimination in any form, anywhere, is wholly unacceptable and No Room for Racism makes our zero-tolerance stance clear.”
Masters continued: “We will not stand still on this important issue and we will continue to work with our clubs, players and partners to address all prejudiced behaviour.”
The BLM movement has faced controversy over the summer, over its calls to defund the police and claims of antisemitism.
On 30 June, the league said it did “not endorse any political organisation or movement, nor support any group that calls for violence or condones illegal activity.”
It added: “We are aware of the risk posed by groups that seek to hijack popular causes and campaigns to promote their own political views. These actions are entirely unwelcome and are rejected by the Premier League and all other professional football bodies, and they underline the importance of our sport coming together to declare a very clear position against prejudice.”
The Premier League has said it will support players who wish to take a knee before games, while the FA said it will take a “common sense” approach to how it treats on-field shows of support.
There is also a coach placement scheme to improve diversity within football.