Dhe German Football Association has waived the “One Love” captain’s armband for Manuel Neuer following the threat of sanctions by FIFA. After consultations between the working group of the European Football Union UEFA and the world football association, the UEFA nations involved decided not to take the risk of a possible yellow card or other sporting sanctions during the World Cup in Qatar. The DFB confirmed this on Monday. In addition to Germany, England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland had also planned to wear the multicolored captain’s armband with a heart.
“The fact that FIFA wants to punish us on the pitch is unique and goes against the spirit of sport, which unites millions,” said the Dutch association KNVB. “We stand by the One Love message and will continue to spread it, but our number one priority is winning games. You don’t want the captain to start the game with a yellow card.”
The first captain to openly violate FIFA regulations during the finals would have been England’s Harry Kane in this Monday’s game (2:00 p.m. CET in the FAZ live ticker for the World Cup, on ZDF and on MagentaTV) against Iran. “We were willing to pay penalties, which would normally be the case for violating dress regulations. However, we could not put our players in a situation where they could get a yellow card or even be forced to leave the field,” said the joint statement distributed by the English FA, to which the DFB also belonged.
FIFA introduces its own captain’s armbands
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf had already spoken about differences of opinion with FIFA on Sunday, but also said: “We said we would stick to the fact that we would run out with the bandage. (…) We kept telling FIFA well in advance that we wanted to wear this armband, but FIFA didn’t react to that.” After consultations on Monday, the associations changed their minds.
The campaign was a joint effort announced in September by teams from Germany, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Wales, France, Denmark as well as Norway and Sweden, both of which have not qualified for the World Cup. France’s captain Hugo Lloris announced early on that he would not wear the bandage.
FIFA only presented its own new captain’s armbands on Friday – two days before the opening game. “The participating teams will have the opportunity to send messages during the games via the team captains’ armbands,” said the world association. According to the announcement, FIFA devised the messages together with three United Nations organizations.
Meanwhile, it was also announced this Monday that Interior Minister Nancy Faeser will be traveling to Qatar for the German national team’s opening game. The SPD politician responsible for sport will continue to travel to the emirate after her visit to Turkey, said a ministry spokesman for the AFP news agency. The team of national coach Hansi Flick meets Japan on Wednesday (2:00 p.m. CET in the FAZ live ticker for the soccer World Cup, on ARD and on MagentaTV) for the tournament opener.
According to the spokesman, Faeser emphasized that she also “would like to continue the dialogue with the Qatari government on reforms there, in particular to improve the human rights situation”. The host of the World Cup has been heavily criticized for human rights violations.
