Real Madrid's Marcelo takes knee and raises fist after scoring goal

Marcelo knelt on one knee and raised his fist in a sign of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement after scoring Real's third goal.

With Real 2-0 up against Eibar, Marcelo netted Los Blancos’ third goal and celebrated by kneeling and raising his fist.

Both actions echoed those of past athletes’ protests.

While playing for the San Francisco 49ers, former NFL star Colin Kaepernick knelt during the US national anthem to protest police brutality against African Americans.

And by raising his fist Marcelo also paid homage to a symbol of black protest and liberation. Notably, Olympic medal winners John Carlos and Tommie Smith raised their fists on the podium at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City during the US national anthem.

The gesture has been adopted many times since, and many have raised their fists during the Black Lives Matter protests in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death.

Tommie Smith (center) and John Carlos (right) on the podium at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.

La Liga title race

Real won 3-1 to remain two points behind leaders Barcelona as the Madrid club’s coach Zinedine Zidane brought up his 200th game in charge in unusual surroundings.

With the Bernabeu stadium being renovated, the club are playing the remainder of their home games at the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano, a 6,000-seater located at Real’s training ground.

Real Madrid chose to use the empty stands at the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano to display a banner reading "In our hearts" paying tribute to coronavirus victims.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and La Liga had announced prior to the league’s resumption that prior to play, teams at all levels of Spanish football would hold a minute’s silence to remember victims of the coronavirus pandemic.

At time of writing, Spain has 243,928 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with 27,136 deaths but fewer than 50 new cases in the past 24 hours.

source: cnn.com