Monday, November 21, 2022

Opinion: It's about more than a rainbow heart on an armband

The controversy surrounding the One Love armband is tragic, according to DW reporter Olivia Gerstenberger. It’s also emblematic of everything that this World Cup is not: diversity, tolerance and freedom of opinion.


Olivia Gerstenberger
DW
Commentary

Image: Revierfoto/IMAGO
What is a campaign worth if it crumbles under the threat of sanctions? What value is held by campaigns that are run peacefully and unanimously in democratic countries but not where it actually matters?

Seven national soccer teams wanted to set an example by representing "Western" values at the World Cup in Qatar: the Netherlands, from where the campaign originated, England, Wales, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark and also Germany.

The "One Love" captain's armband was a vital component of the message as outlined by Germany's captain Manuel Neuer amongst others. An armband with a colorful striped heart and the words "One Love" — a sign against homophobia, antisemitism and racism and for human rights. Now all seven associations have folded. Why? Because they fear the sporting consequences.

FIFA's show of force

Sporting sanctions, such as a yellow card for wearing an article of clothing? Or even points docked during the tournament? That's crazy, but it's actually possible because the FIFA armband with its own messages is considered an official piece of clothing according to World Cup regulations. Wearing "incorrect" clothing can be sanctioned by the referee.

FIFA has made it clear that captains could even be forced to leave the field, according to a joint statement from the seven federations. As a result, they are advising their captains not to wear the armband because they do not want to put their players in that position, but they said they were frustrated by the "unprecedented" decision.

The One Love armband, which the captains of seven nations was due to wear in Qatar.
Image: Sebastian Gollnow/dpa/picture alliance

Fear of heart armband

Unprecedented? Certainly! And it must be repeated clearly at this point: we are not just talking about the rainbow armband. A rainbow as a symbol of the LGBTQ+ movement does not even appear on it! It is about a rather inconspicuous heart bandage, clearly reduced in its symbolism.

And yet this piece of cloth has caused such a stir at FIFA that it has responded with its own "No Discrimination" campaign: A wide variety of statements from "Protect children" to "Save the planet" now appear on the official FIFA armbands of the 32 team captains. "One Love," of course, does not. A clever move by FIFA, which has now seemingly asserted itself with all its might.

Sport and politics cannot be separated


But what does backing down say about the seven football associations? "They just want to play soccer" can no longer be an argument. Sport and politics cannot be separated, even if FIFA, the IOC and co. might want it that way.

The seven teams took a clear stance before the start of the World Cup. Every demonstrator decides in advance and knows about the possible consequences, whether in Germany, Iran or Qatar. But such a decision also requires courage and the absolute will to really want to make a difference, come what may.

The seven European federations had the chance to do this. They could have stood together, shown a common stance and shown that they had a backbone. All that remains are empty promises and extensive damage to the image of an already tarnished World Cup.

This opinion article was originally written in German.

Qatar: FIFA yet again 'fails to uphold human rights' after 'One Love' armbands pulled

© 2021 SOPA Images

Responding to FIFA’s threats to sanction players who planned to wear ‘One Love’ armbands to show support for the LGBTI community, Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Economic and Social Justice, said:

“Last minute threats to sanction players for wearing messages in support of human rights and equality is the latest example of FIFA failing to fully uphold its own values and responsibilities. Sport does not happen in a vacuum and these are issues on which FIFA should be leading, not cracking down on.

“Agreements on armbands, and better protections for LGBT communities, should have been reached a long time ago.

“We applaud the courage of teams and players who have spoken out about human rights and we hope they continue to do so. Fans, players and FAs want to ensure that football can be a vehicle to promote human rights, and FIFA needs to heed these calls quickly. It must not only encourage messages of equality, but take proactive action to ensure LGBTI people are protected.

“And let’s not forget the migrant."

 

Armband ban 'unprecedented' from FIFA, says German football boss

Issued on: 21/11/2022 - 

Al Shamal (Qatar) (AFP) – German Football Association president Bernd Neuendorf said on Monday that FIFA's threats of on-field sanctions for wearing the 'One Love' armband were "an unprecedented event in World Cup history".

Neuendorf confirmed an earlier announcement that Germany captain Manuel Neuer would not wear the rainbow-themed armband, which supports LGBTQ rights, at the tournament.

FIFA had "threatened on-field sanctions", believed to be yellow or red cards, against players who wore them on the pitch.

"We will not place the weight of FIFA's confrontation on the back of Manuel Neuer," Neuendorf said, telling reporters the DFB "was very frustrated with FIFA's decision".

"We don't want to expose our captain to such a risk (that) he would receive a sporting sanction," he said from the team's training ground at Al Shamal, in northern Qatar.

"We were willing to pay the fines that are normally imposed for violations and we strongly advocated wearing the armband."

Neuendorf said the decision to threaten on-field sanctions was "a show of force from FIFA".

While FIFA has previously discouraged teams from making "political statements", the organisation's statutes are unclear on whether these could lead to on-pitch consequences.

The director of the German team, former striker Oliver Bierhoff, said FIFA "escalated" the situation, with Neuer and the German team "going to bed last night believing he would be wearing the armband".

"Manu is in a difficult situation -- we all are. Manu is disappointed, as he said in the press conference he would wear the armband, along other European team captains like (England's) Harry Kane."

Germany play their Group E opener against Japan on Wednesday.

© 2022 AFP



OneLove campaign hit by threat of FIFA sanctions

James Thorogood
8 hours ago
DW

Nations planning to wear a rainbow-themed One Love captain’s armband decided to back down on Monday. The seven countries have cited the threat of disciplinary action from world governing body FIFA for the decision.


The threat of sanctions have resulted in the seven European nations who had signed up to the One Love campaign, including England and Germany, announcing their decision to abandon plans to wear the rainbow-themed captain’s armbands.

The joint-statement, released just hours before England’s game opening 2022 World Cup group game against Iran was due to kick-off, cited the threat of disciplinary action from world football governing body FIFA as the reason for the decision.

Having previously outlined that they were prepared to face fines, the statement highlighted that "FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play."

"We cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play."


Conflicting sentiments

FIFA president Gianni Infantino opened the World Cup with a message of inclusion before Qatar became the first host nation to lose their opening game of the tournament. "Dear friends, welcome. Welcome, to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Welcome to a celebration of football because football unites the world."

Yet the latest decision from FIFA doesn’t share the same sentiment with leading European captains such as Harry Kane and Manuel Neuer no longer able to make a free choice.

"We are experiencing an unprecedented event in World Cup history," said German Football Association President Bernd Neuendorf. "We will not carry out the confrontation brought about by FIFA on the back of Manuel Neuer."




When asked previously, Neuer had said he was "not afraid of consequences" as he had "the support of the German FA (DFB) and our DFB president." As Neuendorf pointed out though, "part of the problem is that we don't know what sanctions would have been imposed" had they pushed ahead with the idea.
Showing inclusion the yellow card?

The Football Supporters' Association said they felt "betrayed" by the decision. "Today we feel contempt for an organisation that has shown its true values by giving the yellow card to players and the red card to tolerance.

"Never again should a World Cup be handed out solely on the basis of money and infrastructure. No country which falls short on LGBT+ rights, women's rights, workers' rights or any other universal human right should be given the honour of hosting a World Cup."

The One Love campaign, an idea by the Netherlands, is designed to promote inclusion and equality at the World Cup in Qatar and beyond. The other nations that were due to wear the armband in Qatar were England, Belgium, Denmark, France, Switzerland and Wales.


Inclusive "within a framework"

Qatar and FIFA President Infantino have both reiterated that everyone will be welcome in the country despite the fact same-sex relationships are a criminal offense in Qatar. There is also no recognition of civil partnerships in the Gulf state.

FIFA had been informed about their plans to wear the rainbow-themed armband in Qatar as early as September. On Monday they stressed in a follow-up statement that it is "an inclusive organization that wants to put football to the benefit of society by supporting good and legitimate causes, but it has to be done within the framework of the competition regulations which are known to everyone."



FIFA offered its own compromise Monday by saying captains of all 32 teams "will have the opportunity" to wear an armband with the slogan "No Discrimination" in the group games.

FIFA's original offer Saturday was that "NoDiscrimination", the only one of its chosen slogan aligned with the European teams' wish would appear only at the quarterfinal stage.

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