The decision not to wear the OneLove armband in the FIFA World Cup 2022 was confirmed in a joint statement issued by European countries consisting of England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
England and Germany were determined to put on the OneLove armband to show their support. But they have decided not to wear the OneLove armband at the World Cup in Qatar. England will be the 1st team to not wear it before their first match against Iran.
What did the joint statement of the European countries say?
After being threatened with sanctions the European countries came up with a joint statement that says: “FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play. 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,”.
It further says: “We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. However, we cannot put our players in a situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.
Ending the statement with: “We are very frustrated by the FIFA decision which we believe is unprecedented – we wrote to FIFA in September informing them of our wish to wear the One Love armband to actively support inclusion in football and had no response. Our players and coaches are disappointed – they are strong supporters of inclusion and will show support in other ways.”
FIFA World Cup 2022 set to bring forward ‘No Discrimination’ campaign
FIFA later confirmed the launch of its ‘No Discrimination’ campaign, ostensibly to limit the backlash that will follow Kane’s decision not to wear the OneLove armband in England’s opener against Iran.
“Following discussions, FIFA can confirm its No Discrimination campaign has been brought forward from the planned quarter-finals stage in order that all 32 captains will have the opportunity to wear this armband during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” the governing body said.
“This is in line with Article 13.8.1 of the FIFA Equipment Regulations, which state: “For FIFA Final Competitions, the captain of each team must wear the captain’s armband provided by FIFA.”
“The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 regulations, as approved by everyone in the game, exist to preserve the integrity of the field of play for all participants and are equally applicable to all competing teams.
“FIFA is an inclusive organisation that wants to put football to the benefit of society by supporting good and legitimate causes, but it has to be done within the framework of the competition regulations which are known to everyone.”
