Chris Dunn

Football exposes the contradictions of multiculturalism on a world stage. We're told that people of the Muslim faith are just as English as the rest of us. Yet multiculturalism also encourages to celebrate their own culture and prioritise it above any kind of English one. So we end up with the celebration of England's first ever Muslim player - hooray - only for him to refuse to sing (or even pretend to sing) the country's national anthem. Which is obviously his individual choice. But it's worth asking what exactly we're celebrating when we celebrate Diop Tehuti Djed-Hotep Spence as English. Am I being unfair? Were other (not Muslim) players not singing it either? Perhaps he just finds singing embarrassing?

Kick It Out statement: It’s massively disappointing that some Leeds United fans booed when Manchester City’s players broke their fast during the first half of the match at Elland Road this evening. This was compounded by the fact that an explanation was displayed on a big screen inside the stadium. Pausing the game to allow Muslim players to break their fast during Ramadan has been an agreed protocol for several years now. It’s an important and visible part of making the game welcoming for Muslim players and communities. But as tonight’s reaction shows, football still has a long way to go in terms of education and acceptance.