The Belgium national football team’s away kit features the colors of the rainbow and the word “love”. They are not allowed to use it during the Qatar WC. It is the International Football Association (FIFA) that has put its foot down. This is confirmed by the Belgian football star Peter Bossaert in an interview with the newspaper Het Nieuwsblad. He says that the kit, which has been designed in collaboration with equipment manufacturer Adidas, must be changed and adapted to Fifa’s wishes. – The word “love” must be removed, says Bossaert. – It is sad, but Fifa gives us no choice. The rest of the equipment remains unchanged, he continues. In the three group games in the World Cup, it is expected that Belgium will be able to use their customary red home kit. Belgium captain Eden Hazard was scheduled to have played the World Cup matches with the much-discussed rainbow-coloured captain’s armband, but Fifa is also stopping that. Hazard would have received a yellow card for the marking, and the football association in the country does not want to take the chance. President of the Norwegian Football Association (NFF), Lise Klaveness, says on Dagsnytt 18 that she has spoken to the Belgian general secretary, who could not confirm that the kits were refused because of the rainbow colours. – We are past this with signals. It was a show of force from Fifa. These are basic, universal values that you don’t want to provoke. Nobody benefits from escalating this, says Klaveness. – The relationship with Fifa is at a low point after this, she says. English expert marked with rainbow armbands When the seven World Cup nations who planned to wear rainbow-coloured captain’s armbands during the World Cup in Qatar changed their minds after threats from Fifa of sporting punishment, former England player Alex Scott did something that has gone down in his victory lane on social media: She posed up on the BBC’s broadcast from Qatar wearing the “OneLove” captain’s armband. – At least someone is brave enough to do it. Well done, Alex Scott, writes football website FootballJoe on Twitter. – She shows what we all think. As long as you don’t get a yellow card as a consequence, it’s something you want to stand up for. It’s a pretty clear message from her to Fifa, says news’s Tete Lidbom, and news’s WC expert Kristoffer Løkberg agrees. see. Photo: BBC – She represents England too, in her own way. It becomes difficult for the players to take it when the consequences are a yellow card, and it is so important. She shows where the English stand on this matter. England won Monday’s match against Iran 6-2. Callum Wilson tells news that he did not see Scott’s mark before the match, and says the following about Fifa’s threat of a sporting penalty. – It is Fifa’s competition, Fifa’s rules and ultimately we follow them. That’s how it is, he says. – It’s the WC. There has been a lot of focus on non-sporting problems. We have left it up to the FA (the English Football Association) to deal with it. We are here to play the WC. I don’t know too much about the armband. I think it was a decision made by the FA, but all I know is that we support everything off the pitch that everyone is talking about, says England’s Declan Rice to news. Jude Bellingham scored England’s first goal in the match against Iran. He says the armband threats “are disappointing”. – It is disappointing that they could not support such a case. I understand the cultural challenges here, but it would be nice to have it as a mark and show people that this (football) is everyone’s game. – Unfortunately, that has not happened here tonight, and in itself they have made a big problem out of us not having to wear the armband. It shows that we have much more to do, and hopefully the experts, the media and myself can have that conversation, says the 19-year-old to SVT. The WC countries: – Frustrated Earlier on Monday, seven WC nations made a joint statement after Fifa’s warning about 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” bandages to actively support inclusion in football, and never received a reply. Both the players and our coaches are disappointed. England, the Netherlands, Denmark, Wales, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland had all planned to wear a rainbow colored captain’s armband with the text “OneLove” during the World Cup in Qatar. The host country where homosexuality is prohibited and, according to Amnesty, can be punished with seven years in prison. STEERING: The rainbow colored captain’s armbands have been used by several nations for a long time. Photo: CARL RECINE / Reuters But after threats of sporting punishment from the International Football Association (Fifa), everyone has turned around. President of the Norwegian Football Association (NFF), Lise Klaveness, reacts strongly to it. – We deeply disagree with Fifa’s decision not to allow this captain’s armband. This campaign underpins universal values that Fifa has in its own statutes and which should not be politicised. The campaign has been going on for many months, also for Norway and other countries that are not in the World Cup, and we have communicated this to Fifa just as many months ago, she says in a statement. – Fifa has not communicated any opposition until 24 hours before the opening match and then with uncompromising behavior and threats of sporting sanctions. Fifa’s decision and not least the manner in which the decision is made is disturbing. All the countries participating in the campaign are frustrated, including Norway, even though we are not participating in the WC, says Klaveness. REACTS: Football president Lise Klaveness calls the way the decision has been taken disturbing. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB news’s commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt calls it all a “demonstration of power” – This is taken straight from the textbook for how authoritarian governments crush opposition. And a further politicization of the WC. How can they ask for respect for the organizers’ culture when they themselves do not show respect for support for universal human rights? he asks England, who took the initiative for the campaign, were in meetings with Fifa on Monday. A little while after these meetings, they decided to drop the captain’s armband. FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said earlier on Monday that they would be “happy” to pay a fine for using the bandage. But if they wanted to be punished sportingly, they had to reconsider. The confirmations of the changed plans then came in turn: First the Netherlands, then Denmark, then England. COMMENTATOR: news’s Jan Petter Saltvedt. Photo: ALEM ZEBIC / news – A power play Saltvedt thinks it’s a shame that the teams are not willing to take the yellow card to highlight how important the matter is. At the same time, he understands that the sporting uncertainty is so great that others have to make the decision. In the World Cup, you must sit out a match if you receive a yellow card in two different matches. – Fifa knows that well. They are the ones who set that rule, too. They hit the opponents where they are weakest. We have to call it a power play, says Saltvedt. 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”. – Shameful In the days before the controversial championship started, 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. WOULD USE THE TIE: Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk. Photo: GARETH BUMSTEAD / Reuters Leader of the organization FRI (the association for gender and sexuality diversity), Inge Alexander Gjestvang, calls Fifa’s threats shameful. – We at FRI are very concerned about the situation of migrant workers, women and the queer population in Qatar, and not least how human rights are safeguarded in general. The fact that athletes and the public are punished for putting the spotlight on problematic things is both embarrassing and shameful, he says to news, and adds: – Sports are used as a superficial and nice glaze, but underneath there is a rotten cake that is clearly visible visible as soon as you scratch the surface a little. – 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. CRITICAL: Kasper Hjulmand, Denmark’s national team manager. Photo: NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP – 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. The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), a supporter organization from England and Wales, writes in a statement that it feels disgusted with Fifa, “which has shown its true values by giving yellow cards to players and red cards to tolerance”. – Everyone could see this coming, and it is incredible that Fifa censors players and football associations who want to share a positive message.
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The word “love” had to go – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
