Players take a knee before a Euro 2020 match between Belgium and Italy.

Players take a knee before a Euro 2020 match between Belgium and Italy.

Now playing Next

Politics have entered the football pitch. Was it inevitable?

Brussels police moved in to gradually shut down the conference.

Now playing Next

Brussels police shut down hard-right gathering with Orbán and Farage

Latest news bulletin | April 16th – Evening

Now playing Next

Latest news bulletin | April 16th – Evening

European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton speaks during a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, June 3, 2021.

Now playing Next

Is the EU digital identity wallet going to strip away our privacy?

Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system fires interceptors at rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel. Thursday, May 11, 2023.

Now playing Next

Iran will 'face consequencess' for attack: Israeli military chief

A severely damaged cabin of a cable car transportation system is seen outside Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 12, 2024.

Now playing Next

Turkey cable car accident: 174 people stranded in air rescued

Why are plans to build more wind farms in Greece so controversial?

Now playing Next

Mixed feelings in Greece over plans to build more wind farms

A man stands in front of protestors with a giant EU flag outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, April 15, 2024.

Now playing Next

WATCH: Brawl in Georgian parliament after MP punched

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens during a news conference

Now playing Next

US House Speaker promises to push for aid to Israel and Ukraine

Police stand guard outside the front entrance of the event venue as the National Conservatism conference takes place in Brussels, Tuesday, April 16, 2024.

Now playing Next

WATCH: Brussels police move to shut down hard-right meeting

Migrants disembark a coastguard ship in Lanzarote

Now playing Next

More than 400 migrants arrive in Canary Islands

Actors light a torch at the official flame lighting for the Paris Olympics at the home of the ancient games in Greece.

Now playing Next

Paris Olympics flame lit at Greek cradle of ancient games

Grab taken from video released by the Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, shows flooded area at Tobol river in the Kurgan region, Russia.

Now playing Next

More homes flooded in Russian region bordering Kazakhstan

Updated: 26/08/2021 - 10:02

Video. Politics have entered the football pitch. Was it inevitable?

The Euro 2020 tournament has been characterised by unusually explicit conversations on politics, race and LGBTQ+ rights.

Read full article

More from Europe News

Citizens are urged to vote in an EU election that could see environmental topics pushed down the EU agenda.

Now playing Next

EU Policy. Survey rates parties on Green Deal - from 'pro' to 'prehistoric'

People take part in a demonstration of solidarity with Israel in Berlin, Sunday, April 14, 2024 following the Iranian attacks on Israel overnight.

Now playing Next

EU scrambles to rein in a spill-over in the Israel-Iran conflict

Members of European Parliament participate in a series of votes as they attend a plenary session at the European Parliament in Brussels, Wednesday, April 10, 2024.

Now playing Next

State of the Union: Decisions on climate, transparency and migration

Belgian prime minister Alexander de Croo

Now playing Next

Belgium probing Russian influence network suspected of paying MEPs

Latest video

Protesters hold a EU flag as they gather outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, April 16, 2024.

Now playing Next

Fourteen detained as protests continue over 'Russian' law in Georgia

Those born after 2009 will become Britain's first "smoke-free generation" under the UK government's new ban.

Now playing Next

UK MPs to vote on banning tobacco sales to those born after 2009

Fibreglass sculptures, hand-painted by British artist Yinka Shonibare

Now playing Next

Yinka Shonibare challenges colonial narratives in London exhibition

FILE - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of People in Beijing, China, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022.

Now playing Next

Germany's Scholz rules out decoupling from China

Watches and Wonders 2024: elite of watchmaking unveil their creations in Geneva

Now playing Next

Watches and Wonders 2024: elite of watchmaking unveil their creations in Geneva

FILE - Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system fires to intercept a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, near Sderot, Israel, Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

Now playing Next

Live. Israelis split on response to Iran attacks

A woman takes a photo as an Italian soldier patrols the Israeli national pavilion at the Biennale contemporary art fair in Venice, Italy, Tuesday, April 16, 2024.

Now playing Next

Israeli artists stops own Venice Biennale show in cease-fire call

A woman hangs clothes to dry on her balcony of a housing block in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, April 13, 2024.

Now playing Next

Spanish left puts housing front and centre in EU elections campaign

Smoke rise out of the Old Stock Exchange, Boersen, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tuesday, April 16, 2024.

Now playing Next

Fire engulfs historic Copenhagen Stock Exchange

Elly Schlein, Secretary of the Democratic Party

Now playing Next

Italy's Democratic Party launches EU elections manifesto

Greece's prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announces candidates for EU elections

Now playing Next

Greek prime minister announces candidates for EU elections

In this image provide by NOAA, a fish swims near coral showing signs of bleaching at Cheeca Rocks off the coast of Islamorada, Florida, July 2023.

Now playing Next

World’s coral reefs hit by fourth mass bleaching event

Lighting the Olympic flame at the birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southwestern Greece.

Now playing Next

In pictures: Flame-lighting ceremony for the Paris Olympics in Greece

Former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower after leaving Manhattan criminal court, Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York.

Now playing Next

Dozens of jurors dismissed from Trump criminal hush money trial

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, centre, the armourer on the set of the Western film "Rust" receives a sentence of 18 months for involuntary manslaughter.

Now playing Next

'Rust' armourer gets 18 month sentence for fatal on-set shooting

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest. Tuesday, June 27, 2023.

Now playing Next

Attacks on Ukraine's nuclear plant put world at risk, IAEA warns