The captains of seven European nations won’t put on anti-discrimination armbands in World Cup video games after threats from FIFA to point out yellow playing cards to the gamers.
“As nationwide federations we will not put our gamers ready the place they might face sporting sanctions, together with bookings,” the seven soccer federations mentioned Monday in a joint assertion.
The climbdown after threats from FIFA got here hours earlier than England’s Harry Kane, the Netherlands’ Virgil van Dijk and Wales’ Gareth Bale had been attributable to put on the One Love armbands in Monday’s video games. The captains of Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark had been additionally anticipated to put on the armbands within the coming days.
“Our primary precedence on the World Cup is to win the video games,” the Dutch soccer federation mentioned in a separate assertion. “Then you don’t need the captain to begin the match with a yellow card.”
The One Love marketing campaign was began within the Netherlands and its image is a heart-shaped multi-colored emblem geared toward selling inclusion and variety in soccer and society.