England subject to 'extreme blackmail’ by FIFA to dump OneLove armbands, German FA claims
22 November 2022, 17:31
England dropping ‘OneLove’ armbands - which champion diversity and inclusion during the World Cup - allegedly due to FIFA blackmail.
The England football team faced "extreme blackmail" that led to the dropping of the ‘OneLove’ armbands ahead of their World Cup opener, the German Football Association claims.
England had planned to wear the armbands in their first match against Iran to make a statement against discrimination during the World Cup in Qatar.
Homosexuality is illegal in the gulf state.
Alongside England, six other nations - including Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark - had also been put under pressure by FIFA, who had threatened to issue yellow cards to any player wearing the multi-coloured armband.
Read More: Harry Redknapp wades into World Cup LGBT row as Qataris step up crackdown on rainbow flags
Speaking to German Deutschlandfunk radio, Steffen Simon, the German FA’s media director said: "The tournament director went to the English team and talked about multiple rule violations and threatened with massive sporting sanctions without specifying what these would be.
"We lost the armband and it is very painful but we are the same people as before with the same values. We are not impostors who claim they have values and then betray them.
"We were in an extreme situation, in an extreme blackmail and we thought we had to take that decision without wanting to do so."
The FA is yet to comment on the German FA's allegations.
Ex-Manchester United legend Roy Keane disdained the FA’s choice not to wear the armband, regardless of the pressure put on by FIFA.
Speaking to ITV, he said: "England and Wales should have stuck to their guns and gone through with it.
"The players could have worn the OneLove armband for the first game and taken their punishment.”
Iran upheld their decision to not sing their anthem before their opening World Cup match on Monday - in a sign of support for mass protests back home and a violent state crackdown on the unrest.
FIFA’s reputation has been decimated in recent years, with four previous presidents resigning amid corruption allegations and other scandals, or tarnished by them.
