9 European countries, including England, Wales, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and Denmark have decided that their captains will not be wearing ‘One Love’ armbands during the Qatar World Cup after FIFA threatened to sanction the players if they wear one. With the possibility that their captain may see a yellow card at best and even a red card, the football associations of these countries decided against the armband.
The idea behind the armbands was to extend support to the LGBTQ+ community during the World Cup in Qatar, a country where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by law. Treatment of LGBTQ+ community in Qatar has been a matter of a lot of discussion in the lead-up to the tournament, however, FIFA is in no mood to let that discussion continue.
The captains of these European countries, like Harry Kane, Gareth Gale, and Simon Kjaer had pledged to wear the armband to support LGBTQ+ community during the tournament but now that their football associations have bowed down to FIFA’s pressure, it is unlikely to happen.
A joint statement by the football associations said that they couldn’t put their captains in a situation where they could be sanctioned.
The statement said, “We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. Fifa has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play”.
Qatar has come under a lot of criticism for its treatment of the migrant workers in the country and its treatment of the LGBTQ+ community before the tournament began last night in Al Bayt Stadium. However, looks like FIFA is in no mood to let anyone talk about Qatar’s controversial policies while the tournament is in progress.
In place of the one love armband, FIFA has proposed a “No Discrimination” armband that can be worn right through the tournament. FIFA will start its “No Discrimination” campaign from the Quarter Finals stage of the tournament, however, openly supporting LGBTQ+ community will not be allowed during the campaign.