Silent protest against Fifa by Germany
Germany’s players covered their mouths for a World Cup team photograph in protest at being blocked from wearing an anti-discrimination armband.
The national team players made the gesture as they prepared for kick-off in their opening match against Japan at the Khalifa Stadium yesterday. It followed a joint statement from seven European nations, including Germany plus England and Wales, to drop plans to wear the Onelove armband after threats of sporting sanctions from FIFA.
The German football federation, the DFB, 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 nonnegotiable. 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. We stand by our position.”
Germany head coach Hansi Flick said after his side’s shock 2-1 defeat: “It was a sign, a message that we wanted to send out. We wanted to convey the message that Fifa is silencing us.”
Germany’s interior minister Nancy Faeser, who was sitting close to Fifa president Gianni Infantino in the VIP box, wore a Onelove armband in support of the national team.
The Football Association has declined to comment on whether it will follow Germany’s lead and make the covered mouth gesture before England’s next match against the United States.
England were hours from kick-off in their opening
match against Iran when the seven nations issued a joint statement to say the plans to wear the rainbow-coloured armband were being abandoned, with FIFA having raised the threat of sporting
sanctions, starting at yellow cards being shown to the captains wearing them.
The wearing of the band is part of a year-long campaign which began in September but was set to be especially significant in Qatar, where samesex relationships are criminalised. Lawyers are looking at the regulations to examine the sanctions.