Striker's sad snub for EPL anti-racism gesture

Wilfried Zaha became the first Premier League player not to take a knee before his Crystal Palace team beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 on Saturday.

Luka Milivojevic scored with a first-half penalty which Zaha had won.

Zaha was back in the starting XI after an injury and it gave him the chance to stand at kick-off. He said last month that taking a knee has lost meaning after being brought in by the Premier League in June as an anti-racism message when football resumed.

Zaha, who is black, said in a statement on Saturday that "it doesn't matter whether we kneel or stand, some of us still continue to receive abuse".

The 21 other players on the field took a knee.

Zaha was central to the goal in the 37th minute. He saw a cross blocked by the arm of defender Darnell Furlong and following a lengthy VAR check, referee Simon Hooper pointed to the spot after using the pitchside monitor.

West Brom is second from bottom while midtable Palace has 37 points — a sufficient total to avoid the drop in each of the last four seasons.

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