England’s players will not be allowed to wear the OneLove armband in matches at the World Cup this summer but will be able to wear bands supporting other causes.
FIFA has announced plans, first reported exclusively by the PA news agency last week, to highlight a number of social issues and causes throughout the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
Captains will be able to wear armbands corresponding to the cause being highlighted in each round of matches, or wear an armband in support of one cause for the entire tournament.
FIFA has consulted with national associations and players over its plans in a bid to avoid a repeat of the row over ‘OneLove’ armbands which dominated the opening week of the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year.
There, captains of the nations involved in the ‘OneLove’ campaign, including England and Wales, were threatened with sporting sanctions starting at a yellow card if the bands were worn, because they would have been a breach of FIFA equipment regulations. The bands were seen as a potent symbol of tolerance in a country where same-sex relationships were criminalised.
PA understands teams can promote other causes at team training camps if they choose to, but wearing the ‘OneLove’ band, or any other unapproved band, at a match would trigger sanctions.
The colours of FIFA’s ‘unite for inclusion’ band are not those of the rainbow or LGBT pride flag, instead, they symbolise race and heritage (red/black/green) and all gender identities and sexual orientations (pink/yellow/blue).
The choices for the colour combinations were inspired by the Pan-African flag and the pansexual flag respectively.
Alongside inclusion, the other causes being highlighted are ‘unite for indigenous peoples’, ‘unite for gender equality’, ‘unite for peace’, ‘unite for education for all’, ‘unite for zero hunger’, ‘unite for ending violence against women’ and ‘football is joy, peace, love, hope and passion’.
Team captains will also have the option to wear a ‘football unites the world’ armband for the entire tournament, if they do not wish to choose a single cause or support different causes round by round.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “Football unites the world and our global events, such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup, have a unique power to bring people together and provide joy, excitement and passion.
“But football does even more than that – it can shine the spotlight on very important causes in our society. After some very open talks with stakeholders, including member associations and players, we have decided to highlight a series of social causes – from inclusion to gender equality, from peace to ending hunger, from education to tackling domestic violence – during all 64 matches at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.”
The Football Association said: “We know FIFA engaged with federations and players from around the world on the armbands to be worn at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The next step is for our players to decide which of the options they will choose to wear.”
The PA news agency understands the England squad will take some time to consider which option to go for.
World players’ union FIFPRO has also been contacted for comment.
Speaking prior to FIFA’s announcement, England midfielder Georgia Stanway was asked about the armband situation at a press conference and said: “I think no matter what the outcome is, whether it goes our way or not, we know that we still stand for exactly the same thing.
“If we can or we can’t wear the armband we know that we wanted to and we’ll stand by the fact that we wanted to. Whatever the outcome is we’ll still stand by whatever we believed in and whatever we wanted to be the resolution.”
