Bhandari wants the football world to show unity against racism following the death of George Floyd, an African-American who was killed in police custody in America last week.
The aftermath of Floyd’s death has sparked mass demonstration and rioting in the United States as protests continued around the world.
A number of football personalities have shared messages of support in the wake of Floyd’s demise. Bundesliga quartet of Jadon Sancho, Achraf Hakimi, Marcus Thuram and Weston McKennie protested against racism over the weekend.
Liverpool stars also took a knee around the Anfield centre-circle during a training on Monday in a show of solidarity.
Bhandari called on the German FA (DFB) not to sanction the players who showed support to Floyd and insists there is nothing political about footballers standing against racism.
“I hope there will be a degree of leniency shown by the German authorities,” Bhandari said.
“I’m not sure how you can sanction Marcus Thuram. I don’t think he’s done anything wrong. He’s just taken a knee.
“I wonder if that’s the thing I would encourage if players want to protest. If you score a goal and take a knee could everyone do that? Not just the black players. The white players too – everyone.
“Every player should do it. It should be teams doing it. You saw the Erling Haaland celebration after the first game back where all the Borussia Dortmund players did the social-distancing celebration. They could all take a knee.”
“Racism’s not about black players or brown fans. It’s about all of us. Racism corrodes society and we’re all hurt by it. Everyone should want to demonstrate their solidarity and disgust.”
