Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk said at Sunday’s press conference that the plan was to wear the captain’s armband, but that he and the Dutch Football Association would have to reconsider whether it would be punished in the form of a yellow card. On Monday, just a few hours before the Netherlands’ first World Cup match against Senegal, it was confirmed that van Dijk is not wearing the rainbow-coloured ‘OneLove’ armband. The Danish Football Association (DBU) informs DR that the Danes are also dropping the captain’s armband. England, who took the initiative for the campaign, were in meetings with Fifa on Monday. A little while after these meetings, England has also decided to drop the captain’s armband. In a joint statement from a total of seven nations, published by the English Football Association (FA), they express their disappointment at Fifa’s threats of sporting punishment. – We cannot put our players in a position where they are punished sportingly, such as in the form of yellow or red cards. We are very frustrated by Fifa’s decision, which is something we have never seen before. We wrote to Fifa in September informing them of our desire to use the ‘OneLove’ pads to actively support inclusion in football and never received a reply. Both the players and our coaches are disappointed. Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Wales are also dropping their captain’s armbands following the threats from Fifa. Ahead of the championship, it has been reported that several World Cup countries want to wear rainbow colored captain’s armbands with the text “OneLove” during the World Cup in Qatar, the host country where homosexuality is prohibited and, according to Amnesty, punishable by seven years in prison. In the Fifa regulations, rule 4.3 under equipment regulations, it states: “No object (suit or other equipment) shall be used in a playing area if it is considered by Fifa to be dangerous, offensive or obscene, includes political, religious or personal slogans, statements, images or the like that are not entirely in line with the game’s guidelines.” In the days leading up to the start of the controversial championship, the International Football Association (Fifa) launched its own campaign with its own captain’s armbands, urging all World Cup countries to use them on match day. They also warned that going against these calls would result in punishment. Most assumed it would mean a fine for the confederations who chose to defy Fifa’s call, but now it appears there could be sporting consequences in the form of yellow cards. – We will happily pay… Or, happily is perhaps the wrong word, but we are prepared to pay a fine as we believe it is important to show our support for an inclusive environment, said the managing director of the English Football Association, Mark Bullingham. to the BBC earlier Monday. In the World Cup, you must sit out a match if you receive a yellow card in two different matches. – Does not see the problem From before, Denmark’s national team coach Kasper Hjulmand has announced that he does not want to pressure his captain Simon Kjær to start the World Cup with a yellow card. The Danes, like the other nations mentioned, have planned to use the rainbow captain’s armband, but Hjulmand says that it is now up to the federation. – This cannot be up to the players. Imagine entering the pitch with a clear yellow card from the start. It doesn’t work, says Hjulmand, who is confused by Fifa’s clear calls to drop the “OneLove” bandages. – This is not something new we have invented for this occasion. It’s something we’ve done before. To be perfectly honest, I don’t see the problem. That is something I put a big question mark on.
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Denmark, the Netherlands and England turn after Fifa threats
