England, Wales and five other European nations have backed down from wearing the OneLove armband that was intended as a protest at all forms of discrimination at the World Cup in Qatar. The decision came after they were warned by Fifa they would face sporting sanctions, and that their captains could be booked or even forced to leave the pitch.
Instead the captains are expected to wear Fifa-approved armbands promoting different social messages throughout the tournament. Fifa announced on Monday that the “No Discrimination” message, originally scheduled to be worn by teams in the quarter-finals, would instead be worn in the first group games instead.
This is a World Cup like no other. For the last 12 years the Guardian has been reporting on the issues surrounding Qatar 2022, from corruption and human rights abuses to the treatment of migrant workers and discriminatory laws. The best of our journalism is gathered on our dedicated Qatar: Beyond the Football home page for those who want to go deeper into the issues beyond the pitch.
Guardian reporting goes far beyond what happens on the pitch. Support our investigative journalism today.
In a statement the seven federations – also including Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland – expressed dismay at Fifa’s behaviour.
“Fifa has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play,” they said. “As national federations, we can’t 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.”
What also frustrated the federations was that they had contacted Fifa in September to say they planned to wear the rainbow armband in a country where same-sex relationships are illegal, yet had heard nothing – until Sunday evening.
“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,” they said. “Our players and coaches are disappointed – they are strong supporters of inclusion and will show support in other ways.”
The federations met Fifa on Monday morning to seek clarity over the issue. Before the statement was issued the Denmark manager, Kasper Hjulmand, made clear his bafflement at Fifa’s attitude given the armband was worn, with scant fanfare, during Nations League games in September. That competition falls under Uefa’s jurisdiction.
“This is not something invented for this occasion, it’s something we’ve done before,” he said. “A OneLove armband – I can’t see the problem to be honest.”
The Netherlands manager, Louis van Gaal, said: “We are not going to wear the armband if we’re going to get a yellow card and we need to question whether this is a correct act on the part of Fifa. And you can answer that question. I think it is crystal clear.”
The Guardian has spoken to Qatari and Fifa sources who insisted the decision was taken purely by football’s governing body – and that there had been no pressure from Qatar regarding the armband. A Fifa source also pointed out that the regulations have long been clear that unapproved armbands are not allowed – and therefore nothing had really changed.
Fifa said in a statement: “Fifa can confirm its No Discrimination campaign has been brought forward from the planned quarter-finals stage in order that all 32 captains will have the opportunity to wear this armband during the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022.
“This is in line with Article 13.8.1 of the Fifa equipment regulations, which state: ‘For Fifa final competitions, the captain of each team must wear the captain’s armband provided by Fifa.’
“The Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 regulations, as approved by everyone in the game, exist to preserve the integrity of the field of play for all participants and are equally applicable to all competing teams.
“Fifa is an inclusive organisation that wants to put football to the benefit of society by supporting good and legitimate causes, but it has to be done within the framework of the competition regulations which are known to everyone.”
The decision was quickly greeted with dismay by fans and LGBTQ+ groups. The Football Supporters’ Association said: “LGBT+ football supporters and their allies will feel angry. Today we feel betrayed. Today we feel contempt for an organisation that has shown its true values by giving the yellow card to players and the red card to tolerance.
“Never again should a World Cup be handed out solely on the basis of money and infrastructure. No country which falls short on LGBT+ rights, women’s rights, workers’ rights or any other universal human right should be given the honour of hosting a World Cup.”
A joint statement from 3 Lions Pride and The Rainbow Wall, LGBTQ+ fan groups of England and Wales respectively, accused Fifa of censorship and said football’s governing body was “crushing the basic human rights to freedom of speech and expression” and “giving a platform to hate”.
The veteran gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said that Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, had showed his “true colours” after speaking about inclusivity at the weekend.
“I urge the team captains at their post-match press conferences to spend just 30 seconds to speak out for the rights of women, LGBTs and migrant workers,” he said. “That would have a huge impact, reaching a global audience of hundreds of millions of people.
“Fifa has crushed the OneLove campaign with the threat of yellow cards. It’s time to show Fifa and Qatar the red card.”
Infantino said he had spoken to Qatar’s “highest leadership” and “I can confirm that everyone is welcome”.
The British Olympian and BBC presenter Jeannette Kwakye expressed disappointment at the FA’s decision. “The most powerful protests in global sport have not required permission,” she pointed out on social media.
The official spokesman of Rishi Sunak, the British prime minister, said: “We share the FA’s frustration with Fifa’s decision on this which puts players in a very difficult position. It is, ultimately, a decision for the FA. On LGBT rights more broadly, clearly Qatar’s policies are not those of the UK government and not ones we would endorse.”
