World Cup Teams Drop Plans to Wear Anti-Discrimination Armbands After Threats from FIFA

Mar. 15, 2025

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Martin odegaard

European teams competing in theWorld Cuphave decided against plans to wear anti-discrimination armbands after threats of yellow cards from FIFA.

The team captains of England, Wales, Germany, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands had planned to accept a fine for wearing the OneLove armbands in support of diversity and inclusion.

However,FIFA announced on Mondaythat the captains of teams who wear them will be given a yellow card.

“FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play,” the seven soccer teams said Mondayin a joint statement. “As national federations we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including bookings.”

FIFA said in a statement that teams could only wear FIFA-issued armbands. The organization said they had different armbands designated for each stage of the tournament, and after the seven teams dropped their plans to wear the OneLove ones, FIFA would allow the use of their own No Discrimination armbands throughout the four weeks of play.

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Eden Hazard

The statement claimed that these regulations “exist to preserve the integrity of the field of play for all participants” and are “equally applicable to all competing teams.”

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However, the teams plan to “show support in other ways” according to the statement.

The 2022 World Cup has received continued backlash around host country Qatar’s systemic discrimination against women and the LGBTQ+ community, as well as the reported deaths of 37 migrant workers who were helping to construct the stadiums where the World Cup will be held.

source: people.com