The Football Supporters’ Association have slammed FIFA for their “betrayal” after preventing countries from wearing the OneLove armband. England and five other associations originally planned to defy governing bodies and wear the armband in protest of LGBT rights and the lack of same-sex legality in Qatar.
Support for the “One Love” campaign started before Euro 2020 last summer and also received backing from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Wales, Sweden and Switzerland. Harry Kane was set to wear the armband in England’s Group B opener against Iran.
However, a joint statement from seven nations has triggered a U-turn just hours before the Three Lions’ first fixture. Sporting sanctions - including a possible yellow card for those expressing the “One Love” message - forced teams to change tack.
“FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play,” the statement from the FAs of England, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Wales read.
“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 can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including bookings. We’re very frustrated by the FIFA decision which we believe is unprecedented.”
“We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations & had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. However, we cannot put our players in a situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.”
A strongly-worded response from the FSA has ripped into FIFA for allowing Qatar to host the World Cup, accusing the chief governing body of “showing a red card” to tolerance. Their statement read: “To paraphrase FIFA president Gianni Infantino - today 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 a 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, worker’s rights or any other universal human right should be given the honour of hosting the World Cup.
“Since 2010 we have been raising questions about the suitability of Qatar as a World Cup host. Everyone could see this coming as it is astonishing that, on the morning of England’s World Cup opener, FIFA are censoring players and the nine national FAs - including the FA and FAW - who wish to share a positive message.”
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