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#FootballFever | World Cup teams nix armbands that were seen as snub to Qatar

Published:Monday | November 21, 2022 | 10:09 AM
England's Harry Kane wears a rainbow armband as he takes a knee prior to the Euro 2020 soccer championship round of 16 match between England and Germany at Wembley Stadium in England. The captains of seven European nations will not wear anti-discrimination armbands in World Cup games after threats from FIFA to show yellow cards to the players. The seven soccer federations say "we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions.” (Justin Tallis, Pool Photo via AP)

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — FIFA's threat of on-field punishment for players forced World Cup teams to back down Monday and abandon a plan for their captains to wear armbands that were seen as a rebuke to host nation Qatar's human rights record.

Just hours before the first players wearing the armbands in support of the “One Love” campaign were set to take the field, the governing body of world football warned they would be immediately be shown yellow cards — changing the calculus for the seven European teams, which may have expected to merely be fined.

The displays are a violation of FIFA rules.

The standoff was just the latest dispute that threatened to overshadow the play.

Since being awarded the World Cup hosting rights in 2010, conservative Muslim Qatar has faced criticism for its treatment of low-paid migrant workers as well as its criminalisation of homosexuality.

The decision came three days after beer sales at stadiums were suddenly banned under pressure from the Qatari government and two days after FIFA president Gianni Infantino delivered an extraordinary tirade defending the host nation's human rights record.

The captains of seven European nations had vowed to wear armbands carrying the heart-shaped multi-coloured logo of the “One Love” campaign, which promotes inclusion and diversity in soccer and society.

That set up the prospect of viewers worldwide seeing a symbol of disapproval with the host country and defiance of FIFA on the arms of England's Harry Kane, the Netherlands' Virgil van Dijk and Wales' Gareth Bale on Monday.

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