If the German soccer players watched TV on Monday evening, it might mean a bit more than just distraction.
In any case, on the eve of their departure for the first World Cup game in Doha, they could go to bed with the good feeling that the English and Dutch started the tournament fairly unfazed by the big fuss about the small piece of fabric.
And Gareth Bale was also far from wobbly knees when he took the penalty for Wales.
Without a bandage, but with a burden - that could not be said for these members of the blown up European protest group.
The fact that the same applies to Hansi Flick and his team, who start the World Cup this Wednesday against Japan (2 p.m. CET, in the FAZ live ticker for the World Cup, on ARD and on MagentaTV), is not a matter of course.
Oliver Bierhoff was concerned that the socio-political issue could rub off on the sporting opportunities in Qatar when he tried to explain the sudden change from "One Love" to "No Love" alongside Bernd Neuendorf and left a rather pale impression made.
No wonder, the Germans are familiar with the bad end that political entanglements and upheavals can have.
The situation is not directly comparable with 2018.
At that time, the recordings of Mesut Özil and Ilkay Gündogan with the Turkish head of state Erdogan and above all the inability (and in Özil's case also unwillingness) to get the topic off the ice caused explosives within the team.
In addition, the debate poisoned the climate in the whole (soccer) country, which radiated negatively to Russia.
There is no sign of that at the moment, the mood is, from everything you can see and hear, better than it has been in the national team for a long time.
However, it cannot be ruled out that friction will arise here too - between players who uphold their commitment to diversity and human rights even against resistance, and those who wonder what the whole thing is about at a World Cup and who got them into it.
Even if there was a consensus in advance, it is not certain that it will hold up reliably in the new situation.
If the feeling should have arisen that realistic information about the risks and side effects of the planned operation has not been provided, this could also cause frustration.
But that's theory for now.
In practice, the German team primarily has to contend with other imponderables.
Whether someone can be found who scores goals reasonably reliably, whether the midfield manages to keep the place together, but above all whether the defense promises stability despite the lack of top class on the flanks - these are things that have a much more direct impact on the World Cup affect opportunities.
The fact that the well-organized and Bundesliga-trained Japanese are a highly uncomfortable opponent makes this debut a similarly tricky number as it was against Mexico four years ago.
The potential trump card of the German team, alongside FC Bayern in its old form, is actually the new spirit, embodied by players like Jamal Musiala or Youssoufa Moukoko.
Until Black Monday because of the colorful bandage, there were some indications that it could go far if Flick and his team clear the first hurdles.
That can still happen.
But now the perspective has changed: The German team also plays against ghosts who are not just called Infantino.