Captains cannot wear OneLove armband at Women’s World Cup after FIFA ban
Captains cannot wear OneLove armband at Women’s World Cup after FIFA ban by Michelle
According to Captain Sam Kerr, Australia would love to don the OneLove armband in support of LGBTQ+ rights during the Women’s World Cup. However, at the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year, such armbands were prohibited, and players were threatened with bookings by Fifa if they chose to wear them.
“Like most of the teams in the whole world, everyone has voiced that they would love to wear it,” Kerr said as per BBCSport. Nevertheless, Fifa has authorized eight armbands displaying various social messages.
During the men’s World Cup, team captains from England, Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, and Denmark had planned to wear the OneLove armbands in protest of Qatar’s laws against same-sex relationships.
In a joint statement, the federations of the aforementioned countries made it clear that they would not be wearing the OneLove armband due to Fifa’s threat of issuing yellow cards to players donning the armband. Consequently, Captain Sam Kerr, a forward for Chelsea, echoed their sentiments, expressing her concern about the potential risks it poses to Australia’s progress in the tournament they are co-hosting with New Zealand.
“You saw with the men’s World Cup, Harry Kane, for example, first game if he had have worn it, he would have received a yellow card; he got a yellow card in the game, so he would have been sent off,” she said.
“It’s not worth the risk; putting the team at risk, putting the tournament at risk, putting everything at risk.
Michelle Maxwell
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