European teams: Won’t wear ‘One Love’ armband at World Cup | Qatar World Cup 2022 News

The climbdown by seven teams following a FIFA threat came just before some captains were expected to wear the armbands.

Seven European teams – including former champions Germany and England – have abandoned plans for their captains to wear a rainbow armband in support of LGBTQ rights at the football World Cup in Qatar, citing the threat of disciplinary action from FIFA.

“FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play,” the teams said in a joint statement on Monday.

Belgium, Denmark, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and Wales are the other teams whose leaders were planning to wear the armbands.

Under FIFA rules, players wearing kit that is not authorised by football’s governing body could be shown a yellow card. If those players then receive a second yellow card, they would be sent off, weakening their team’s chances.

The “One Love” armband was designed as part of a campaign that started in the Netherlands to promote inclusivity and diversity in football and society. Its symbol is a heart-shaped multi-coloured logo. But the decision by European teams to wear it during the World Cup had widely been viewed as a protest against laws in the host nation Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal.

“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,” the federations said in the statement.

The climbdown came hours before England’s Harry Kane, the Netherlands’ Virgil van Dijk and Wales’ Gareth Bale were due to wear the armbands in Monday’s games.