When football players become the moral compass of a nation

Something astonishing is happening in the UK. While there is a government characterised by sleaze and corruption completely lacking any sense of morality, it is football players who step forward and challenge inequality and discrimination in society. Whether it is Marcus Rashford pushing the government into ensuring that children continue to receive free school meals during holidays (Guardian, 8 November 2020) or the English national team taking the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and the struggle against structural racism (Guardian, 18 June 2021), they work towards social justice. Unlike the current government, they are fully aware of their function as role models for wider society and they live up to it.