England, Wales and five other European nations have confirmed they will not wear the OneLove armband at the World Cup in Qatar, saying Fifa made clear they would face sporting sanctions and that their captains could be booked or even forced to leave the pitch.
Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland were the other countries that had planned to wear the rainbow armband in a country where same-sex relationships are illegal. Fifa has ordered all captains to wear armbands that promote other social messages.
A joint statement from the seven football federations said: “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. » | David Hytner, Nick Ames and Sean Ingle in Doha | Monday, November 21, 2022
