Former Burnley manager Eddie Howe praised the response of the club and captain Ben Mee over the offensive banner flown over the Etihad Stadium on Monday night.

A plane flew above the ground trailing the words ‘White lives matter Burnley’ just after kick-off between Manchester City and the Clarets, moments after all the players had taken a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Burnley issued a strong statement condemning the banner during half-time, and Mee spoke passionately about the incident after the match.

Bournemouth boss Howe, who managed Burnley for almost two years after joining in 2011, said: “I thought the club’s response was emphatic.

"I echo Ben Mee’s comments, who I thought spoke really well after the game and I’m sure it’s a very small minority of Burnley supporters who have done that.

“The majority of Burnley supporters who I met in my time there were fantastic people. On behalf of this club we are anti all racism and discrimination.”

Anti-discrimination group Kick It Out released a statement in support of the BLM movement, saying the purpose of it was not to "diminish the importance of other people's lives".

The statement read: "Fighting for equality requires addressing injustice - imbalances that plague our society and prevent everyone from receiving fair treatment.

"The point of Black Lives Matter is not to diminish the importance of other people's lives. It is to address an imbalance and highlight that black people are being denied certain human rights simply by virtue of the colour of their skin.

"It is about equality. We shall continue to support the Black Lives Matter movement and the fight for greater equality in football."