If not clear, the message was strong. On Wednesday, through press releases published by various federations, we learned that the captains of eight European teams qualified for the World Cup (Germany, England, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Wales and Switzerland) would wear a rainbow armband in upcoming Nations League matches, but also during the competition in Qatar, a country where homosexuality is illegal.
It is within the framework of this campaign entitled OneLove, initially launched by the KNVB (the Dutch Federation), that Raphaël Varane, the captain of the Blues against Austria (2-0), displayed on his arm this piece of multicolored fabric, Thursday. But it is not yet certain that Hugo Lloris, when he returns from injury, is authorized to imitate him during the World Cup. When FIFA was contacted to find out if they would allow the armbands to be worn in Qatar, they simply confirmed “having received requests from member associations”, adding « (what) will respond in due time”.
According to our information, the international body was only notified last Monday, by means of an email sent by Gijs De Jong, the general secretary of the KNVB, to Fatma Samoura, his counterpart at FIFA. Among the recipients of this message was Michele Uva, the director of football and CSR (corporate social responsibility) at UEFA. Because the European confederation fully supports this project, which allows it in particular to embarrass FIFA, with which it is in permanent guerrilla warfare, since the subject risks upsetting the Qatari organizer.
Rainbow flags not recommended at the World Cup
As a reminder, in April, Abdullah al Ansari, the head of security at the World Cup, recommended that LGBT spectators avoid manifesting their sexuality in public by, for example, waving the rainbow flag in the stands. In such a context, could FIFA ban the wearing of these famous armbands at the risk of shocking part of international public opinion?
It is unlikely because this initiative has been welcomed by several big names in European football (Varane, Harry Kane, Manuel Neuer …), but also because, according to someone close to the case, other non-European federations , including that of the United States, are said to be about to join the OneLove campaign. A final argument could end up convincing FIFA and the Qatari organizing committee: these armbands do not exactly reflect the colors of the LGBT flag.
Explanations from Jaap Paulsen, Head of Communications at the KNVB: “The OneLove campaign does not only concern LGBT people, it denounces all forms of discrimination, linked to racism, sexism, anti-Semitism… So, among the colors we have chosen, there is red , black and green, which evoke the pride that one can feel depending on one’s origin and skin color, but also pink, yellow and blue, which reflect the pride one can feel in based on gender and sexual orientation. »
Far from being trivial, these symbolic considerations should favor the acceptance of the rainbow armband by Qatar, and thus spare FIFA a worldwide controversy.
