Demba Ba calls for Uighur solidarity protest over treatment by China

“I have to try and organise something so football players can get together and, in the meantime, talk about this matter because not a lot of people want to,” said ex-West Ham, Newcastle and Chelsea forward Ba.

“I know there are footballers who want to fight for justice, whether Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, any belief.

“As sportspeople, we have a power we don’t even know. If we get together and talk, things change. If we stand up, people stand up with us.”

The Premier League gave the go-ahead to public shows of support for the worldwide campaign for racial justice, set in motion by George Floyd’s death in police custody in the United States in May.

Players from all clubs ‘took a knee’ before kick-off while player names on the back of shirts were replaced with the slogan Black Lives Matter after a collective request to the Premier League.

Ba is not the first footballer to speak out publicly for the Uighur cause.

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil posted on social media in December, highlighting Uighur persecution and calling for solidarity from fellow Muslims.