Captains of European football teams will not wear “Onelove” armbands after the World Cup in Qatar FIFA The unions said in a joint statement on Monday that it was clear that they would be booked.
England, Wales, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark are the European teams playing in the World Cup in the Middle-Eastern country.
“You don’t want the captain to start the match with a yellow card. That’s why it is with a heavy heart that we, as a UEFA working group … and as a team, have had to make the decision to abandon our plan ” The Dutch football association KNVB said in a statement.
According to FIFA regulations, team equipment must not contain any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images, and during FIFA finals competitions, each team captain must “wear a captain’s armband provided by FIFA”.
Hours before the start of their first match against Senegal on Monday, FIFA made it clear that captain Virgil van Dijk would receive a yellow card if he took to the pitch wearing the armband as planned, the KNVB said.
The KNVB said it was “deeply disappointed” in FIFA’s stance and would not let it go unnoticed.
“It is completely against the spirit of our sport, which unites millions of people,” the KNVB said in a statement.
Wales said the countries involved were prepared to pay the fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations, but sporting sanctions were too far away.
“As national federations, we cannot put our players in a position where they face sporting sanctions, including bookings, so we have asked captains not to attempt to wear the armband at FIFA World Cup games.”
Twitter users didn’t take the about turn lightly and slammed the teams
“The whole point of England & Wales wearing the One Love armband is to make a stand against injustice. Because of the threat of a yellow card, the initial plan to wear the armband automatically becomes a completely empty gesture,” tweeted one. the user.
“Ridiculous that England made such a fuss about wearing virtue-signalling armbands at this World Cup. Even more ridiculous that they are now being bullied for not wearing them. If you’re going for virtue-signalling , then at least have the courage to stick to your stated principles,” tweeted renowned UK TV anchor Piers Morgan.
Another user tweeted, “The idea that FIFA would tell referees to book players for wearing a rainbow armband is ridiculous even for FIFA and Ridiculous even for FIFA Bar one that would very rarely be approved” Is.”
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