Editorial: Like a petulant child, threatening to take the ball away if they don’t get their way, Fifa stamped down at the last minute on plans by captains of the European nations to wear OneLove armbands in World Cup matches.
The captain's armband of Harry Kane of England during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 match between England and Iran. European teams abandoned plans for captains to wear a OneLove armband Like a petulant child, threatening to take the ball away if they don’t get their way, Fifa stamped down at the last minute on plans by captains of the European nations to wear OneLove armbands in World Cup matches.
Making this threat at the last minute led to the European teams backing down, though they did express frustration at the Fifa decision, saying they had informed the association of their intention to wear the armbands last September, but had received no response. Fifa “no discrimination” armbands are being worn instead.
The countries involved said that they were prepared to pay fines for breaches of kit regulations, but could not see players facing “sporting sanctions.” By moving so late in the day, Fifa clearly calculated that no time was left to dispute this decision, which the teams said was unprecedented. Perhaps they could have stood up to Fifa? Had England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland all refused to comply, Fifa would have opened itself up to more ridicule by instructing referees to book the players involved. Actions count on the world stage – as seen when the Iranian team refused to sing their national anthem in apparent protest at the recent repressive actions of that country’s regime, following the death of Mahsa Amini.
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