One Love Armband Protest Abandoned By European Teams Under FIFA Pressure

At the World Cup, Germany, Denmark, England, Wales, Belgium, Switzerland, and The Netherlands will not don One Love armbands.
The armband was suggested by the UEFA Working Group in support of inclusiveness and diversity. It featured a “heart containing colors emblematic of various backgrounds.” In Qatar, same-sex relationships are forbidden.
After learning that captains who wore the armband would be subject to punishment in the form of a yellow card, it was decided not to do so.

The English FA claimed in a statement announcing the choice that it had contacted FIFA in September to inform the organization of its desire to wear the armband but had not heard back from them.

FIFA announced on Monday that its “No Discrimination” campaign would now begin at the group stages instead of the quarterfinals as originally intended. The statement further stated that the participating teams would receive message chances for the campaign via their captains’ armbands and that, in accordance with FIFA rules, “the captain of each team must wear the captain’s armband issued by FIFA.”

Prior to a joint statement from the Football Associations of England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, the Dutch FA—which started the One Love campaign before Euro 2020—was the first to issue a statement.
The Football Supporters’ Association declared its “contempt” at FIFA following the announcement.
“We feel cheated today. We have disdain for an organization today since it displayed its true principles by showing players the yellow and red cards and tolerated the red card, the statement said.
“A World Cup should never again be awarded based merely on resources and facilities.

“No country should be allowed the privilege of hosting a World Cup if it fails to uphold the rights of LGBT+ people, women, workers, or any other universal human right.”

“FIFA has made it very plain that if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play, there will be sporting consequences. We have instructed the captains not to try to wear the armband in FIFA World Cup games because as national federations, we can’t place our players in a position where they can be subject to sports punishments, such as bookings.

“We had a strong commitment to wearing the armband and were willing to pay the penalty that would typically be imposed for violating the rules on the equipment. Our players and coaches are disappointed because they are passionate supporters of inclusion and will demonstrate support in other ways, but we cannot put our players in a position where they run the risk of receiving a caution or possibly being asked to leave the field of play. “The FIFA decision, which we think is unprecedented, has left us feeling very frustrated. We wrote to FIFA in September to express our desire to wear the One Love armband and publicly support inclusivity in football, but we never heard back.

“With One Love, the KNVB and the members of the Dutch national team hope to promote harmony and speak out against all types of discrimination. Together with England, Wales, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, and Denmark, we want to do it at the World Cup.” On September 19, FIFA was requested by the UEFA Working Group, of which the KNVB is a member, to accept the One Love captain’s armband. It has been made clear to us by FIFA (officially) today, hours before the start of the first game, that the captain would be issued a yellow card if he wears the One Love captain’s armband. We really apologize that we were unable to work together to find a workable solution.

“While we support the One Love concept and will continue to disseminate it, winning games is our first aim at the World Cup. The captain shouldn’t receive a yellow card to begin the game, then. Because of this, we as a team, the KNVB, and the UEFA Working Group had to decide to scrap our original strategy.

“The KNVB would have likely paid a fine for wearing the One Love captain’s armband, as was previously acknowledged. FIFA’s desire to punish us on the pitch for this has never been shown. This is contrary to the values of our sport, which unites millions of people. In the near future, we will evaluate our relationship with FIFA critically together with the other participating nations.”