OneLove Armband : The captains of England , Wales , Belgium , Denmark , Germany and Netherlands will not wear the OneLove armband during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the football federations of these countries have confirmed.
The OneLove armband stands for equality and also supports the rights of the LGBTQ community. It has become a huge controversy because in Qatar , where the 2022 FIFA World Cup has kicked off , homosexuality is illegal.
It was the initial plan of these European teams to have their captains spot the armband but after FIFA threatens bookings against players who wear that specific armband.
A joint statement from the FA of England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands said:
“Fifa has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play. 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.
“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.”
“Fifa has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play. 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.
“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.”
England play their first group match at the World Cup against Iran on Monday at 1pm (local Ghana time).
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