– With the captain’s armband, we wanted to set an example for the values that we follow in the national team: Diversity and mutual respect. Together with other nations, we wanted to have our voice heard, writes the German Football Association on Twitter, and continues: – It was not about making a political message. Human rights are not something that can be negotiated. It’s something that should be taken for granted, but it still isn’t. That is why this message is so important to us. – Refusing to wear the captain’s armband is the same as denying us a vote. We stand by our position, writes the association. The German national team coach Hans Flick says the following about the marking: – It was a message we wanted to send. We wanted to get the message out that Fifa has silenced us, he says at the press conference. – We were refused to use the armbands, but they could not refuse us to keep our mouths shut, and we wanted to show what values we stand for, says Germany’s Jonas Hoffmann, who was replaced in the second half, to news. SHOES: Manuel Neuer wore these shoes during Wednesday’s game. Photo: MOLLY DARLINGTON / Reuters Several of the German players also have shoes with rainbow colours, but they are shoes that have also been used in the past. In the match itself, Germany took the lead after 33 minutes of play, with Japan turning around in the second half to make it 2-1 and win the match in surprising fashion. Flick does not want to use the marking as an explanation for the loss: – We are not looking for excuses. It will be too easy. Japan has a strong team and they showed their strength today, says Flick. Hoffmann responds as follows to how the debate in recent days has affected them: – It is a daily topic, we are confronted with it everywhere. At some point we have to shift to concentrate on football. That is why we are here, because we want to play football and live out our dreams, he says. German newspaper: – Too little In recent days, there has been a great deal of debate about the use of rainbow-coloured captain’s armbands in the football World Cup. Seven European countries had planned to play with the armbands, which read “OneLove”. Just before England’s match on Monday, however, Fifa made it clear that it would be punished with a minimum of a yellow card, and potentially also a suspension for one or more matches. Germany were one of the nations to play in rainbow armbands, and before their match against Japan on Wednesday, they lined up all eleven players with their hands in front of their mouths. – Mouth closed instead of mouth open. This is too little, writes the major German newspaper Bild about the marking. MARKERTE: The German national team lined up like this in the team picture. Photo: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP news’s sports commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt thinks it was all an elegant protest. – This was a very elegant protest by Germany. Of course very important and pure ridicule of Fifa and their restrictions on the use of the tapes. This shows that it is not as easy to limit our freedom of expression as they obviously hope it can be, says Saltvedt. – Fifa has put itself in a situation where this is getting even more attention. The Germans have already demonstrated and I think more will join in. In Germany’s next game against Spain, I am one hundred percent sure that Manuel Neuer will be wearing the OneLove armband. – Now the ball is starting to roll news’s football expert Andrine Hegerberg also believes this could be the start of more markings. – Now the ball starts rolling. It’s not just players, but others too. It’s so crazy to a new level, so the players are more outspoken than before. You will be put to the wall if you don’t say anything. They don’t hold back so much anymore, says Hegerberg. – Fifa has made it difficult for itself. It is important that this continues after the championship as well. But you can see that the players have a completely different approach to talking about that type of problem now, says Hegerberg. – This mark shows that this could be one of the most important World Cups ever. Because the eternal discussion about football and politics should be mixed is erased with every game that is played. When players who are going to play their first World Cup match go so hard, then we are where we should be. The players speak up in their own way. It is fantastic that it has turned out like this, says news’s football expert Tete Lidbom. news has asked Fifa for a comment on Germany’s selection, but has not yet received a reply. Ahead of the match, there was speculation as to whether the German captain Manuel Neuer would play with the rainbow bandage, and the pictures from the match show that the assistant referee was at Neuer’s place before the start of the match to check whether the captain was wearing the rainbow bandage. CHECK: It was checked whether Manuel Neuer wore the OneLove captain’s armband before the start. Photo: INA FASSBENDER / AFP The German grocery chain Rewe withdrew on Tuesday as a sponsor of the German national team after it became known that they would not use the OneLove captain’s armband. Later on Tuesday, it was reported that the German federation wanted to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). In the stands, the German Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, is pictured with the OneLove armband, side by side with Fifa President Gianni Infantino. ON THE TRIBUNE: German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had donned the OneLove armband. Photo: LEE SMITH / Reuters
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Covered for the mouth – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
