FIFA's threat to punish players on the field forced World Cup teams to backtrack on Monday and abandon a plan to make their captains wear armbands, which has been seen as a rebuke to the human rights record of host nation Qatar.
Just hours before the first players to wear the armband in support of the 'One Love' campaign were due to take the field, football's governing body warned they would be shown immediate yellow cards, two of which would result in the sending off of a player of that game. and the next too. This changed the accounts for the seven European clubs, who simply expected to be fined. Exhibitions are a violation of FIFA rules. The matchup was only the latest squabble that threatened to overshadow the game on the court. Since gaining the rights to host the World Cup in 2010, conservative Muslim Qatar has faced a variety of criticisms, including its treatment of women and low-paid migrant workers and crackdowns on freedom of expression. It has been particularly criticized for its criminalization of homosexuality.
The decision comes three days after the sale of beer in stadiums was suddenly banned under pressure from the Qatari government and two days after FIFA president Gianni Infantino delivered a stunning tirade defending the host nation's primacy of human rights . The captains of seven European nations had promised to wear armbands bearing the multi-coloured heart-shaped logo of the 'One Love' campaign, which promotes inclusion and diversity in football and society. This created the possibility for viewers around the world to see a symbol of disapproval on Monday with host country and FIFA challengers in the arms of England's Harry Kane, Dutchman Virgil van Dijk and Welshman Gareth Bale. But ultimately the teams said they couldn't sacrifice success on the field.
"As national associations, we cannot put our players in a position where they could face sporting penalties, including yellow cards," the seven football associations said in a joint statement, referring to yellow cards. The captains of Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark had also promised to wear the armband in the next few days.
"Our number one priority at the World Cup is to win matches," the Dutch football federation said in a separate statement. "So you don't want the captain to start the game with a yellow card."
The risk of receiving a second yellow card, which would result in a player being sent off the pitch for the rest of the match and being sent off for the next, is particularly risky in a tournament where teams only play three matches before the start of the round of 16.
National football federations and supporters' associations have lashed out at FIFA over its decision to fine players. The Danish Football Association's chief executive, Jakob Jensen, told Danish broadcaster TV2 that the organization was "extremely disappointed in FIFA", and the German Football Association's president, Bernd Neuendorf, called it "another low blow".
"FIFA today banned a statement in favor of diversity and human rights – these are the values it commits itself to in its statutes," Neuendorf told reporters in Qatar. "From our point of view, this is beyond frustrating and, I think, an unprecedented action in the history of the World Cup."
The Football Fans' Association of England has said it feels betrayed by FIFA. "Today we feel contempt for an organization that has shown its true values by giving players a yellow card and tolerance a red card," the FSA said.
Gurchaten Sandhu, of the Geneva-based International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, said FIFA had put "athletes in a very, very awkward position". “You have tied the hands of the national teams. They are there to compete,” she said. She also contested Infantino's defense of Qatar on Saturday, during which she lectured Europeans who criticized the emirate's human rights record and said she felt gay, as a woman and as a migrant worker. Rights groups have criticized Qatar's treatment of these three groups of people. “You don't feel gay. You are gay,” Sandhu said. It was not immediately clear what influence Qatar's autocratic government had on the bracelet decision.
The Qatari government and its Supreme Surrender and Legacy Committee, which oversees the World Cup, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The European plans violated World Cup rules and FIFA's general rules on equipping teams in their matches.
“For FIFA final competitions, the captain of each team must wear the captain's armband provided by FIFA"
The football body's proposal, announced on Saturday, was for captains to wear armbands with socially conscious, albeit generic, slogans. In that bid, wristbands reading 'No Discrimination' – the only slogan of his choice aligned with the European teams' wish – would only appear at the quarter-final stage. He offered a compromise on Monday, saying the captains of all 32 teams "will have the opportunity" to wear a "No Discrimination" armband in group stage matches.