England captain Harry Kane, along with other European captains from Wales, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland, have agreed not to wear the ‘OneLove’ armband at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
PUNCH It was previously reported that world football’s governing body FIFA had threatened the England captain and others carrying the OneLove armband with instant bookings.
FIFA also threatened to issue a second yellow card if the armband is worn in a second game, which would mean the player would automatically miss the third game.
In a joint statement issued on Monday by the football associations of the European countries, they confirmed that they have changed their position after the threat from FIFA.
A UK statement from the Guardian said: “FIFA has been very clear that they will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear armbands on the field of play. As national federations, we cannot put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including bookings, so the FIFA World Cup We have asked the captains not to try to wear armbands during the matches.
“We were ready to pay the fines that would be applied to the violation of the kit regulations and we had a strong commitment to carry the arm. However, we cannot put our players in a situation where they can receive a card or be forced to leave the field of play.
“We are very disappointed by FIFA’s decision, which we believe is unprecedented; we wrote to FIFA in September that we wanted to wear the One Love arm to actively support inclusion in football, and we have had no response. Our players and coaches are disappointed; they are strong supporters of inclusion and support in other ways They will show.”
The OneLove armband is designed to show solidarity with the criminalized minority groups in Qatar.
England will play their World Cup opener against Iran on Monday evening (today).
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