Germany players made a statement in response to the ongoing pressure from FIFA not to wear the planned OneLove armbands during the World Cup.
On Wednesday, the German players covered their mouths during a group photo before the team’s match against Japan, which Germany lost 1-2.
Havertz, 23, continued: “We spoke about the game, what we can do, and I think first it was the right time to do to show the people that — yeah, we try to help wherever we can. Of course, FIFA makes it not easy for us, but we tried to show with that thing.”
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Germany’s leftwinger Julian Brandt told the outlet the decision to cover their mouths “was really spontaneous” but the team wanted to do something to make a statement on the “critical topic.”
Germany was one of several teams who had planned to wear the anti-discrimination “OneLove” armbands until soccer’s governing bodyFIFA announced on Mondaythat the captains of teams who wear them will be given a yellow card.
“FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play,” the seven soccer teams said Mondayin a joint statement. “As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including bookings.”
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FIFA said in a statement that teams could only wear FIFA-issued armbands. The organization said they had different armbands designated for each stage of the tournament, and after the seven teams dropped their plans to wear the OneLove bands, FIFA would allow the use of their own No Discrimination armbands throughout the four weeks of play.
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The statement claimed that these regulations “exist to preserve the integrity of the field of play for all participants” and are “equally applicable to all competing teams.”
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The 2022 World Cup has received continued backlash around host country Qatar’s systemic discrimination against women and the LGBTQ+ community, as well as the reported deaths of 37 migrant workers who were helping to construct the stadiums where the World Cup will be held.
source: people.com
