Seven European teams competing at the FIFA World Cup scrapped plans to wear rainbow-printed armbands in support of LGBTQ rights, citing threats from FIFA to impose sanctions if the players went through with sporting the accessory.
The World Cup kicked off Sunday in the host country of Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal.
The England, Germany, Demark, Switzerland, Wales, Belgium and the Netherlands national teams said in a joint statement that they abandoned their plan to wear OneLove anti-discrimination armbands over concerns about the repercussions, according to Bloomberg and other outlets.
FIFA rules dictate that players must wear only what is authorized as part of their team’s uniform — and FIFA has threatened to dole out yellow cards to players who shirk the rules and wear the armband, according to Reuters.
“FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play. As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games,” the national teams said in a joint statement shared by ESPN.
The World Cup’s host country this year has spurred concerns for LGBTQ players and broader worries about Qatar’s human rights record. FIFA President Gianni Infantino hit back at critics in remarks at a press conference as the World Cup got underway.
“Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arabic. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel [like] a migrant worker,” Infantino said, as reported in The Guardian.
“Of course I am not Qatari, I am not an Arab, I am not African, I am not gay, I am not disabled. But I feel like it, because I know what it means to be discriminated [against], to be bullied, as a foreigner in a foreign country. As a child I was bullied — because I had red hair and freckles, plus I was Italian, so imagine,” Infantino said, later adding “I feel like a woman, too!”
The U.S. Men’s National Team is set to play their first match of the World Cup on Monday against Wales.