England’s Harry Kane will no longer wear One Love armband at Qatar World Cup
The One Love armband will no longer be worn by captains at the Qatar World Cup after threats of being booked.
The captains of England, Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark will not be wearing the One Love armbands, a mark of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, at the Qatar World Cup after FIFA threatened they’d be booked.
England captain Harry Kane previously stated the team were committed to wearing the One Love armband, but will no longer be due to the potential of imposed sanctions.
It was reported wearing the band could result in a fine or a yellow card, this would potentially mean that if Kane was to wear the armband against Iran and the United States he would collect two bookings and therefore (may) be suspended from England’s final group game against Wales.
The nations that were planning to wear the One Love bands – England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland – released a joint statement outlining that they could not put their players “in a position where they could face sporting sanctions”.
“We are very frustrated by the Fifa decision, which we believe is unprecedented,” the statement read.
“We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband,” it continued. “However, we cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked, or even forced to leave the field of play.”
The One Love armband was being used to promote diversity and inclusion in protest against Qatar’s law that being gay is illegal, with punishments including prison sentences or even death.
The advocacy group Human Rights Watch recently reported that six LGBTQ Qataris had been beaten and sexually harassed while in police custody. These reports were denied by Qatar.
Kane, who would’ve be the first player to step onto the pitch with the One Love symbol, has stated he was “absolutely committed” to wearing the armband at England’s press conference, stating: “we want to wear it.”
“We’ve made it clear as a team and a staff and organisation that we want to wear the armband,” the striker said. “I know the FA are talking to Fifa at the moment and I’m sure by game time tomorrow they will have their decision.”
It seems England will now abide to FIFA’s request to wear the FIFA-approved armband that promotes different social messages: “Football unites the world”, “Share the meal” and “Bring the moves”.
As well as the One Love armband, England players are expected to take a knee before kick-off in a demonstration that shows their opposition to discrimination.
FA Chief Executive Mark Bullingham had told the BBC that the FA was willing to take a fine, but the prospect of player bookings and suspensions puts enormous pressure on national captains.
“We’ve been clear that we want to wear the armband,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday. “It is important to us, but equally we need to work through all the discussions right now and see where we end up.”
“We’re very keen to wear the armband, we want to do it, but we need to consider the implications,” he added. “Normally, in this kind of situation, there’d be a fine and we’ve said we’d be prepared to pay that, because we think it’s important to show our support for inclusion.”
“If the sporting sanction threat is real then we need to look at that, step back and work out if there’s another way in which we can show our values,” Bullingham continued.
Also speaking on the Today programme, Welsh FA chief Noel Mooney accused FIFA of “moving the goalposts,” and clarified his stand on the armbands, saying “we want to do it, but the issue is in discussion.”
From reports in the Guardian, The Football Supporters’ Association said: “LGBT+ football supporters and their allies will feel angry. Today we feel betrayed. Today we feel contempt for an organisation that has shown its true values by giving the yellow card to players and the red card to tolerance.”
“Never again should a World Cup be handed out solely on the basis of money and infrastructure,” their statement continued. “No country which falls short on LGBT+ rights, women’s rights, workers’ rights or any other universal human right should be given the honour of hosting a World Cup.”
The One Love armband is just the latest in a string of controversies tied to the Qatar World Cup from David Beckham being blasted for promoting Qatari tourism ahead of the tournament to many in the footballing world speaking out against Qatar’s World Cup hosting including England footballers Jake Daniels and Beth Mead, Scotland’s Zander Murray, and Australia’s Josh Cavallo.
The FIFA World Cup will be held from 20 November to 18 December 2022.