Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso says he will no longer take a knee before matches as he believes the anti-racism gesture is “losing strength”.

The Spanish left-back says he will instead point to the Premier League ‘No Room for Racism’ badge on his sleeve, while other players kneel ahead of kick-off.

Since the Premier League resumed in the summer of 2020 after a coronavirus-enforced break, players, officials and staff at games have been taking a knee before kick-off to show support for the movement for racial equality.

“I am fully against racism and I’m against every type of discrimination, and I just prefer to put my finger to the badge where it says no to racism, like they do in some other sports and football in other countries,” Alonso said.