In a joint statement, the seven federations affected by this notice from the supranational state said: “We cannot expose our players to sporting sanctions, including caution, so we have asked the captains not to wear the armband in the matches of the World Cup”.
The first team exposed to the sanctions was England, which at 2 p.m. faces the Iranian national team in the first match of Group B, strongly marked by a geopolitical component, since it is completed by the United States (historically facing in Iran) and Wales (England’s neighbor under the UK state umbrella). England’s Harry Kane had been strongly in favor of wearing the armband, but will finally follow the instructions of the Football Association (FA).
“We were ready to pay the fines that would have been applied for dress code violations and we had a firm commitment to wearing the armband. However, we cannot put the players in the situation of having to leave the field” , continues the joint statement, in which the federating bodies add that they are “very frustrated by FIFA’s decision”. In fact, the world body chaired by Gianni Infantino had already banned the training shirt of the Danish national team that read “Human rights for all”, a message aimed at the poor democratic guarantees of the authoritarian regime that there is in Qatar, where its citizens, especially women and members of the LGBTI community, do not have freedom.
This coercive measure by FIFA is added to the concession it made a few days ago for the sale and consumption of beer to be removed from the stadiums where the matches will be played and limited only to fan zones that are spread across Qatari territory, a fact that has caused inconvenience for one of the most important sponsors of the event: the Budweiser company.
