World Cup in Qatar
The captains of the national teams of England, Germany, the Netherlands, Wales, Belgium, Denmark and Switzerland will finally not wear the captain’s armband with the vindictive and inclusive message »One Love» due to fears of the «sporting» sanctions that may be imposed on its wearers.
World Cup in Qatar
In a joint statement, the federations of these national teams warned that the governing body has been «very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions» if their captains go out on the field with these armbands. «As national federations, we cannot put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including a caution, so we have asked captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in World Cup matches,» they added.
World Cup in Qatar
The bodies made it clear that they were «prepared to pay the fines that are normally» applied in such cases and that they had «a firm commitment» to wear this armband. «However, we cannot put our players in a situation where they may be cautioned or even forced to leave the field of play,» they reiterated.
World Cup in Qatar
«We are very frustrated by FIFA’s decision, which we believe is unprecedented: we wrote to them in September informing them of our desire to wear the »One Love» armband to actively support inclusion in soccer, and got no response. Our players and coaches are disappointed: they are strong advocates of inclusion and will show their support in other ways,» they said.
World Cup in Qatar
Since being awarded the hosting of the World Cup, Qatar has been criticized due to the country’s human rights conditions and its treatment of the LGBTQ+ community. German international Manuel Neuer confirmed that he would wear the armband with the rainbow symbol and the legend »One Love» at Germany’s World Cup opener in Qatar 2022, and he did so, however, it does not look like this image will be repeated again.
World Cup in Qatar
Neuer already underlined the importance of joint action with the other teams. «It’s good that we have the power with other Western European countries. It is good that we are not alone in this,» said the 36-year-old goalkeeper, who assured that he is not afraid to put on the armband. Despite the player’s wishes, the decision to retire the armbands seems to be a clear-cut one.
