Germans’ tight-lipped Fifa protest
GERMANY’S footballers took a stand against Fifa in the row about rainbow armbands by placing their hands over their mouths before their opening match of the World Cup.
Every member of the German team took part in the protest after Fifa threatened sanctions against England and six other European nations if captains wore the banned One Love armband symbol.
The German team lined up for the traditional pre-match photograph with each player covering his mouth with a hand, signalling that they felt gagged by Fifa, football’s governing body.
“Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice,” the German football federation said after the game, a shock 2-1 loss to Japan.
Hansi Flick, the German manager, said after the match: “It was a sign, a message we wanted to send out and we wanted to deliver the message that Fifa
is silencing us.” Fifa has come under intense criticism after threatening Harry Kane, Gareth Bale of Wales and other captains with yellow cards – or worse – if they wore the rainbow-coloured armband in support of LGBT rights in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal.
Hours before England opened their World Cup campaign against Iran, the seven nations all backed down, saying they could not put their players “in a position where they could face sporting sanctions”.
The Football Association declined to comment on whether it would follow Germany’s lead before England’s next match against the United States tomorrow. The Daily Telegraph understands the FA has instructed its legal team to look at how Fifa was planning to implement its regulations and whether the rules were properly applied.
The German Football Federation (DFB) has confirmed it is exploring legal options, amid reports that a case may be
submitted to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. During the match several German players found other ways to protest including wearing boots with three rainbow lines stitched down the middle, and an additional multicoloured stripe on their training kit.
In the stands, Nancy Faeser, the country’s interior minister, went even further, sporting the banned armband while sitting next to Gianni Infantino, the president of Fifa.
Reaction to the decision to back down to Fifa has been furious in Germany, with one of the country’s largest supermarket chains cutting its commercial ties with the DFB. Volkswagen, Adidas, Lufthansa and Commerzbank, the DFB’S other commercial partners, have also come under pressure to react.
A DFB statement said: “We wanted to use our captain’s armband to take a stand for values that we hold in the Germany national team: diversity and mutual respect. Together with other nations, we wanted our voice to be heard. It wasn’t about making a political statement – human rights are non-negotiable. That should be taken for granted, but it still isn’t the case. That’s why this message is so important to us. Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice.”
Fifa has yet to comment on what the German team did but it is understood there will be no formal disciplinary action from the governing body.
Davy Klaassen, the Dutch midfielder, said his side could follow Germany, but had not yet decided: “Of course we as a group are thinking about coming up with such a statement. I thought this was a nice expression from the Germans.”
‘We wanted our voice to be heard… denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice’