FIFA바카라s threat of on-field punishment for players forced World Cup teams to back down Monday and abandon an anti-discrimination campaign aimed at host nation Qatar. (More Football News)
The captains of seven European nations won바카라t wear armbands supporting the 바카라One Love바카라 campaign in games after FIFA said the players would be shown yellow cards. The decision came three days after beer sales at stadiums was suddenly banned under pressure from the Qatari government and two days after FIFA president Gianni Infantino delivered an extraordinary tirade defending the host nation바카라s human rights record.
바카라As national federations we can바카라t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including bookings,바카라 the seven soccer federations said in a joint statement.
The climbdown after threats from FIFA came hours before England바카라s Harry Kane, the Netherlands바카라 Virgil van Dijk and Wales바카라 Gareth Bale were due to wear the armbands in Monday바카라s games. The captains of Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark had also pledged to wear the armbands in the coming days.
바카라Our number one priority at the World Cup is to win the games,바카라 the Dutch soccer federation said in a separate statement. 바카라Then you don바카라t want the captain to start the match with a yellow card.바카라
Monday바카라s decision shows the political situation surrounding the first World Cup in the Middle East 바카라 even after Infantino asked all 32 national teams to keep politics off the soccer field.
Since being awarded the World Cup hosting rights in 2010, Qatar has faced years of criticism regarding its treatment of low-paid migrant workers as well as it바카라s criminalization of gay and lesbian sex.
FIFA raised the prospect of yellow cards on Sunday during a testy meeting with European soccer federations, including the seven teams that pledged to wear the armband.
The One Love campaign was started in the Netherlands and its symbol is a heart-shaped multi-colored logo aimed at promoting inclusion and diversity in soccer and society.
However, the European plans were in clear breach of World Cup regulations and FIFA바카라s general rules on team equipment at its games.
바카라For FIFA final competitions, the captain of each team must wear the captain바카라s armband provided by FIFA,바카라 the soccer body바카라s equipment regulations state.
The armband dispute flared two months ago when 10 European teams said they had joined the longer-standing campaign in Dutch soccer, but it was still not resolved when the seven teams arrived in Qatar.
FIFA offered its own compromise Monday by saying captains of all 32 teams 바카라will have the opportunity바카라 to wear an armband with the slogan 바카라No Discrimination바카라 in the group games.
FIFA바카라s original offer Saturday was that 바카라NoDiscrimination바카라 바카라 the only one of its chosen slogan aligned with the European teams바카라 wish 바카라 would appear only at the quarterfinal stage.
