Dundee United manager Micky Mellon explains players' decision not to take a knee before 1-0 win over Aberdeen at Tannadice

Micky Mellon has confirmed that Dundee United not taking a knee before the 1-0 win over Aberdeen at Tannadice was a collective decision made in the dressing-room in a show of solidarity to Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara and others.

Dundee United players make a stand against racism instead of taking a knee before their 1-0 win over Aberdeen at Tannadice (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

The Tannadice team wanted to emphasise that racism has no place anywhere in society and felt standing rather than taking a knee, as has become the norm this season, was the best way to relay this message in the seconds before kick-off against Aberdeen.

“It was a decision by the players and I fully back them,” said Mellon. “They wanted to stand side by side with their playing mates from the Scottish Premiership. They made that decision and wanted to show that support for the players at Rangers. They felt not enough is getting done and that taking a knee is just a gesture. And not enough has been done.

“They wanted to take a stand today and make sure they have a say that they want more done. They want people brought to task because it is not acceptable. We have all different cultures in our team, players who have played for Dundee United over the years. We would not accept it here and we want to show support. It’s 2021, let’s move on.”

Mellon was delighted to see his side gain a first win over Aberdeen since May 2015 after Adrian Sporle’s goal on the hour mark. It was the left wingback’s third goal in three games. The manager, who turned 49 on Thursday, felt the margin of victory should have been greater and lamented being denied two penalties – one for when Dean Campbell handled and another when Ash Taylor barged into Jeando Fuchs in the box.

“We have had penalties go against us that were nowhere near as certain as those were,” he said. “I don’t want to be standing here whinging, but I don’t understand why they were not given after the ones we have had to put up with.”

United are in eighth position and have missed out on the top six by a point. “We've got mixed feelings about where we are in the table right now, but the challenge now is can we find the kind of consistency we're looking for?” said Mellon.

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions