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FIFA continues to censor World Cup players attempting to wear messages of inclusion.
Several team captains planned to wear armbands with “OneLove” written against a rainbow backdrop. The armbands were supposed to support LGBTQ+ rights — which are nonexistent in host country Qatar.
But after FIFA reportedly threatened to give any player who wears the armbands a yellow card, the plan was canceled.
In a statement, the football associations said: “We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations. … However, we cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.”
Instead, FIFA has made armbands that say “No Discrimination” available for players to wear.
FIFA has come down hard on teams attempting to wear any messages that the organization deems “too political.”
For example, FIFA told the Danish national team they could not wear practice jerseys that said “Human Rights For All.” The team will, however, wear monochrome kits in protest of Qatar’s human rights violations.
The host country has come under fire for mistreating migrant workers and employing discriminatory laws. But FIFA appears determined to keep protests of these atrocities off the pitch.
