Derby County's Colin Kazim-Richards raises his fist as players take a knee before kick-off
Millwall's home Championship game with Derby County was overshadowed by some fans booing players taking a knee.
It is the first time supporters have been allowed into The Den this season, following the lifting of the second national lockdown on 2 December.
The boos rang out as the two teams took a knee before kick-off in a game which Wayne Rooney's Rams won 1-0.
"It is just disheartening. How do these fans get allocated to the games?" said former England defender Micah Richards.
Players, officials and staff at Premier League and English Football League games have been taking a knee pre-match since the 2019-20 season restarted in June in order to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement for racial equality.
Richards told BBC TV's Final Score: "There are 2,000 so you can pinpoint the people going. There are no excuses. I am sick to death of talking about this situation.
"It is so disheartening because it is like we have come so far but we have so far to go. I don't even like talking about the matter. It feels like it falls on deaf ears. It is time and time and time again."
'Minority of fans' spoiling club's image
Former Coventry and Aston Villa striker Dion Dublin, who had a loan spell at Millwall in 2002, added: "They don't agree with taking the knee, which means they are racist. They don't agree with Black Lives Matter; that says they are racist to me.
"It says to me that a minority of Millwall fans are spoiling it for a club that is going in the right direction with a tag they have had for years and years and they are trying to eradicate it."
American football player Colin Kaepernick started kneeling symbolically during the pre-game national anthem in the NFL in 2016, in protest at police violence against African-Americans in the United States.
The Black Lives Matter movement and taking a knee has grown in prominence in the United Kingdom following the death of George Floyd in the US in May, which sparked protests around the world.
The 46-year-old, an unarmed black man, died after a white police officer held a knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
On Friday, Millwall's first-team squad issued a statement supporting efforts to rid the game "of all forms of discrimination".
The statement added: "The gesture of 'taking the knee' before matches provides an opportunity for us to do exactly that and continues to allow all those playing to publicly showcase their support - on behalf of the whole squad - for the fight against discrimination.
"We wish to make clear that taking the knee, for us, is in no way representative of any agreement with political messaging or ideology. It is purely about tackling discrimination, as has been the case throughout.
"We will continue to do this until the start of the new year when a new and comprehensive anti-discrimination strategy will be announced by the club."
- Follow Saturday's EFL action
- Line-upsMatch StatsLive Text
Line-upsMillwall
- 33Bialkowski12Romeo4Hutchinson5Cooper3M Wallace18LeonardSubstituted forWilliamsat 90'minutes19Woods7J Wallace8ThompsonSubstituted forParrottat 58'minutes11FergusonSubstituted forBureyat 76'minutes10SmithSubstituted forBödvarssonat 76'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Fielding6Williams15Pearce22Bödvarsson25Parrott26Skalak29Alexander32Burey35Muller
Derby
- 1Marshall12ByrneBooked at 87mins33Davies16Clarke3Forsyth5BielikBooked at 58mins4ShinnieBooked at 34minsSubstituted forBirdat 64'minutes25HolmesSubstituted forWaghornat 64'minutesBooked at 85mins38Knight7JozwiakSubstituted forWisdomat 90+2'minutes13Kazim-RichardsBooked at 86minsSubstituted forBuchananat 86'minutes
Substitutes
- 2Wisdom8Bird9Waghorn10Lawrence11Ibe17Sibley21Roos26Buchanan39Stretton
Referee:Darren EnglandMatch StatsHome TeamMillwallAway TeamDerbyPossessionHome46%Away54%ShotsHome12Away11Shots on TargetHome3Away3CornersHome4Away3FoulsHome14Away15Live TextPost update
Match ends, Millwall 0, Derby County 1.
90'+5'Full Time
Second Half ends, Millwall 0, Derby County 1.
90'+4'Post update
Lee Buchanan (Derby County) wins a free kick on the left wing.
90'+4'Post update
Foul by Ryan Woods (Millwall).
90'+2'Substitution
Substitution, Derby County. Andre Wisdom replaces Kamil Jozwiak.
90'+1'Post update
Corner, Derby County. Conceded by Mahlon Romeo.
90'+1'Post update
Corner, Derby County. Conceded by Mahlon Romeo.
90'+1'Post update
Corner, Derby County. Conceded by Jake Cooper.
90'Substitution
Substitution, Millwall. Shaun Williams replaces Ryan Leonard.
87'Booking
Nathan Byrne (Derby County) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
87'Post update
Foul by Nathan Byrne (Derby County).
87'Post update
Tyler Burey (Millwall) wins a free kick on the left wing.
86'Substitution
Substitution, Derby County. Lee Buchanan replaces Colin Kazim-Richards.
86'Booking
Colin Kazim-Richards (Derby County) is shown the yellow card.
86'Post update
Attempt missed. Mahlon Romeo (Millwall) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Ryan Leonard following a set piece situation.
85'Booking
Martyn Waghorn (Derby County) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
85'Post update
Foul by Martyn Waghorn (Derby County).
85'Post update
Tyler Burey (Millwall) wins a free kick on the left wing.
83'Post update
Attempt saved. Matthew Clarke (Derby County) header from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Max Bird with a cross.
82'Post update
Kamil Jozwiak (Derby County) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Source: bbc.com