World Cup 2022: seven European teams give up wearing the inclusive “One Love” armband

Europe 1 with AFP 12:12 p.m., November 21, 2022

The seven European teams which had planned to wear a colorful "One Love" armband against discrimination at the World Cup in Qatar gave up on Monday in the face of the threat of "sporting sanctions", they announced a few hours before the England-Iran match in Doha. .

"Fifa has been very clear, they will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the pitch. As national federations, we cannot ask our players to risk sporting sanctions, including yellow cards," wrote these seven federations.

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France had announced not to wear the armband

England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland have therefore waived their respective captains incurring a yellow card because of this inclusive armband, while saying to themselves "frustrated" by the inflexibility of Fifa.

Initially part of the "One Love" initiative, France had already announced through the voice of its captain Hugo Lloris that it would not wear the armband.

"We were prepared to pay applicable fines in the event of non-compliance with the rules on equipment and were very committed to this armband. But we cannot put our players in the situation where they could be warned or even have to leave the field. "(in the event of a second yellow card), argue the seven federations.

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The equipment regulations provide that captains wear "armbands provided by Fifa" during the final stages.

Otherwise, the referee may ask the player to leave the field to "correct his outfit", and in the event of non-compliance with this instruction, the player may be warned, at the discretion of the referee.

Qatar faces strong criticism

Something to think about the players concerned, as Danish coach Kasper Hjulmand acknowledged on Monday: "Going on the field and taking a yellow is not possible," he said.

"We can't ask the players to assume that."

Since its appointment to organize the event in 2010, Qatar has faced strong criticism, which has intensified further in the run-up to the event, particularly on human rights, including those of LGBTQ+ people and workers. migrants - including those who worked on World Cup sites. 

It was to show their attachment to these causes that several European federations announced the "One Love" initiative in September.

Long silent on the subject, Fifa, which saw it as a masked criticism of the host country, reacted on Saturday by unsheathing its own captain's armbands, carrying much more consensual messages, such as "Save the planet", "Education for all ” or “No to discrimination”.

On Monday, the supreme body of world football announced that its official armbands flocked with the message "No to discrimination" would be usable by the captains from now on, whereas this watchword was to appear in principle during the quarter-finals.