Gareth Southgate Rips Fans for Booing England Players for Taking Knee vs. Austria

England national team head coach Gareth Southgate said Wednesday supporters "aren't quite understanding the message" after players were booed by some fans for taking a knee in support of racial equality ahead of a friendly against Austria.

Southgate told reporters after the Three Lions' 1-0 win he believes the fans at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough, England, who had a negative reaction believe it's a "political stand" that opposes their worldview:

"I was pleased it was drowned out by the majority of the crowd but we can't deny it happened. It's not something on behalf of our Black players that I wanted to hear because it feels as though it is a criticism of them."

"I think the majority of people understand it. Some people aren't quite understanding the message and I suppose we are seeing that across a number of football grounds at the moment."

England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish said during a post-match interview on Sky Sports the players were disappointed with the reaction and will discuss it further in the coming days.

"I obviously was aware of it. I heard it and I didn't like it at all. None of the players liked it," Grealish said. "I think that will get talked about in the next few days. It's a thing we don't want in football in general and especially in our games."

In April, clubs from the English Premier League held a social media boycott as a form of protest against abuse and racism on social media. 

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, who quit social media in March, told CNN's Darren Lewis and Matias Grez he was happy to see Premier League clubs take a stand.

"I like the fact that people actually realize that when we come together, it's ... powerful. I realized that maybe me coming off it might create a little wave in the media and it did, and making people answer some questions," Henry said. "So now, when I saw what's been happening and what's going to happen at the weekend. I was like: 'OK, OK, it's a start, it's a start.'"

England returns to the pitch Sunday for another friendly against Romania, again at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium, which will serve as the side's final warm-up match before its Euro 2020 campaign kicks off June 13.

Southgate didn't say whether the team planned to kneel again before the fixture with Romania.