Fifa threatens to give a yellow card, and teams give up armbands against homophobia

Captains of England, Wales, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark will not wear the “OneLove” armband (a love) in the World Cup. FIFA made it clear they would be punished, the associations said in a joint statement on Monday.

“You don’t want the captain to start the match with a yellow card. That’s why it is with a heavy heart that we, as a UEFA working group, and as a team, have decided to abandon our plan,” the Dutch FA said. in a statement.

The federation added that FIFA had made it clear that captain Virgil van Dijk would receive a yellow card if he entered the field wearing the armband as planned. This warning came hours before departure, scheduled for 1 pm.

They said they were “deeply disappointed” with FIFA’s stance and would not let it go unnoticed.

“This goes against the spirit of our sport, which unites millions of people. Together with other countries involved, we will critically review our relationship with FIFA.”

The armband was designed to convey a message “against any form of discrimination”, the Dutch FA said.

According to FIFA rules, team kit must not contain political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images and, during FIFA competitions, the captain of each team “must wear the captain’s armband provided by FIFA”.

Wales said the countries involved were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to violations of uniform regulations, but the sporting sanctions went a step too far.

“As national associations, we cannot put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including yellow cards, so we urge captains not to attempt to wear armbands to FIFA World Cup matches.”