No sanctions for Sancho and Bundesliga players for Floyd protests

GERMAN FOOTBALL

Bundesliga players including Jadon Sancho who staged protests during matches following the death of American man George Floyd will not be punished, the German Football Federation said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the DFB said "no action" would be taken against Borussia Dortmund players Sancho and Achraf Hakini, Schalke's US midfielder Weston McKennie and Borussia Moenchengladbach's French forward Marcus Thuram for "their symbols of solidarity".

"This line will also be taken should further players make demonstrations on racism and the death of Floyd over the course of upcoming matchdays," the DFB added.

After scoring in Dortmund's win at Paderborn on Sunday England winger Sancho lifted his shirt to reveal the message "Justice for George Floyd".

Floyd's death after a policeman kneeled on his neck for several minutes has sparked eight days of protests in the US cities.

Dortmund's Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi also joined the scoring party

Paderborn's German forward Dennis Srbeny vied with Dortmund's German forward Julian Brandt

Paderborn's substitutes looked on from the stands inside the near-empty stadium

Dortmund's English midfielder Jadon Sancho was a threat throughout the game, seen here taking on Paderborn's German forward Dennis Srbeny and Nigerian defender Jamillu Collins

Here, Paderborn's Tunisian defender Mohamed Drager tried to stop Sancho

Paderborn's German defender Christian Strohdiek battled for the ball with Dortmund's Portuguese defender Raphael Guerreiro

Paderborn's Greek midfielder Sebastian Vasiliadis tumbled to the ground as he faced off with Dortmund's Portuguese defender Raphael Guerreiro

Dortmund's substitutes looked at their teammates playing, hoping they would improve their lead

This is the moment Sancho scored his second goal, which was Dortmund's third of the evening

Goals kept on coming . . .

Hakimi and McKennie expressed similar calls for justice, while Frenchman Thuram, the son of World Cup winner Lilian Thuram, took a knee after scoring for Gladbach in memory of Floyd, echoing similar protests against police brutality started by NFL player Colin Kaepernick in 2016.

On Tuesday, FIFA chief Gianni Infantino said that players demanding justice for Floyd,  should be applauded.

The DFB had launched their investigation into the players' tributes following guidelines from the sport's lawmakers, the International Football Association Board.