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DOHA, Qatar — FIFA’s threat of on-field penalty for players prompted World Cup nations to quit their anti-discrimination campaign against host nation Qatar on Monday.
The captains of seven European nations will not wear armbands promoting the “OneLove” campaign in games after FIFA’s decision to penalize players who do so. The decision was made three days after the Qatari government abruptly prohibited alcohol sales in stadiums and two days after FIFA head Gianni Infantino delivered an astonishing rant defending the host nation’s human rights record.
The seven soccer federations stated in a unified statement, “As national federations, we cannot place our players in a situation where they potentially face sporting punishments, such as bookings.”
The reversal occurred hours before England’s Harry Kane, the Netherlands’ Virgil van Dijk, and Wales’ Gareth Bale were scheduled to wear the armbands in Monday’s matches. Additionally, the captains of Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, and Denmark committed to wearing the armbands in the following days.
The “OneLove” bracelet
AFP Images via Getty
“Winning games is our first aim during the World Cup,” the Dutch soccer federation stated in a separate statement. Then you do not want the captain to receive a yellow card to start the contest.
Even though Infantino requested all 32 national teams to keep politics off the pitch for the first World Cup in the Middle East, Monday’s decision demonstrates the political climate surrounding the tournament.
Since 2010 when Qatar was given the rights to host the World Cup, it has endured years of criticism surrounding its treatment of low-paid migrant workers and its outlawing of homosexual and lesbian relations.
New York Post coverage of the whole 2022 World Cup tournament.
During a contentious Sunday meeting with European soccer federations, including the seven teams that promised to wear the armband, FIFA mentioned the possibility of yellow cards.
Initiated in the Netherlands, the “OneLove” campaign uses a multicolored heart-shaped emblem to promote inclusion and diversity in soccer and society.
The European intentions, however, were in blatant violation of World Cup laws and FIFA’s general rules regarding team equipment for its games.
“For FIFA final contests, the captain of each side must wear the FIFA-supplied captain’s armband,” states the soccer organization’s equipment requirements.
The armband disagreement erupted two months earlier when ten European clubs announced that they had joined the longer-running campaign in Dutch soccer, but it had not been settled by the time the seven teams arrived in Qatar.
The “OneLove” armband in close-up.
AFP via Getty Images
Monday, FIFA said that captains of all 32 teams “will have the possibility” to wear armbands with the phrase “No Discrimination” during group games.
Saturday, FIFA’s first proposal was that “NoDiscrimination,” the only one of its chosen slogans that coincided with the European teams’ request, would only appear in the quarterfinals.