Sports
World Cup 2022: European Captains Reverse Decision To Wear ‘One Love’ Armbands
Several European captains have reversed their decision to wear the “One Love” armbands at the World Cup.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the captains of several European countries will not wear the “One Love” armbands at the World Cup in Qatar due to the danger of receiving yellow cards.
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The captains had vowed to wear the armbands in solidarity with the LGBTQ community and other marginalised groups.
But FIFA banned the use of such armbands at the World Cup, threatening sanctions against those who flout the ban.
On Monday, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Wales jettisoned their decisions to participate in the “OneLove” campaign, which promotes inclusion and opposes discrimination.
In a joint statement, the countries’ football associations expressed frustrastion with FIFA’s decision which they believe is unprecedented.
“FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play,” the statement reads.
“As national federations, we can put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games.
“We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. However, we cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.
“We are very frustrated by the FIFA decision which we believe is unprecedented – we wrote to FIFA in September informing them of our wish to wear the One Love armband to actively support inclusion in football, and had no response. Our players and coaches are disappointed – they are strong supporters of inclusion and will show support in other ways.”
The armband, part of a season-long campaign, features a striped heart in different colors to represent all heritages, backgrounds, genders and sexual identities.
The decision not to showcase the armband comes hours before England’s opening game against Iran, while Wales faces the US and the Netherlands faces Senegal later on Monday.
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Qatar is known for its hardline anti-LGBTQ stance, which FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, defended in a heated press conference on Saturday.
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