Orange ignores alternative FIFA band | football world cup

The Dutch Football Association and captain Virgil van Dijk stick to their plan to use the OneLove band during the World Cup in Qatar, which promotes equality in terms of origin, race, gender and sexuality. “We have received a letter from FIFA about the captain’s armband,” confirms Jaap Paulsen of the KNVB. “It indicates that FIFA has also designed a kind of pro-inclusion band. That is very nice, although the initiative is a bit late. We have decided to just use our own band, so the One Love band.”

There has also been commotion in England about FIFA’s action, which seems to want to meet the Qataris with this. The OneLove band is controversial, because many see it as a rainbow band, which is not the case. “It is a combination of the Pan-African flag, which expresses pride in your origin and race, and the Pansexual flag, which applies to all sexual orientations and gender identities. This is therefore an expression against any form of discrimination,” Paulsen clarifies.

widely accepted in Europe

Like Van Dijk, the English captain Harry Kane and the Welsh captain Gareth Bale want to wear the One Love band during the World Cup to support the LGBTQA community, among other things. He is discriminated against in Qatar. In the strict Islamic country, homosexuality is prohibited by law and sexual contact between two people of the same sex can even carry the death penalty. As far as is known, seven European countries will use the OneLove band.

The French captain Hugo Lloris would also do this, but he dropped out this week. In a statement, he said he did not think it appropriate to wear this band in Islamic Qatar. Incidentally, FIFA has not (yet) banned countries from using the OneLove band. “To date, we have not received approval or disapproval from FIFA. But we’ve already decided that if that disapproval comes, the band will still be worn by Virgil. In that case, the KNVB will take the fine that is on it,” said Paulsen.