FIFA World Cup: How the 'OneLove' armband has sparked controversy
Ahead of Germany's opening FIFA World Cup game against Japan, the German players made a pointed statement during their pre-game playing XI photo
One Love armband surrender is seven national disgracesAll the players posed for the picture by cupping their mouths, a not-so-subtle dig at the fact that they felt gagged. But why?
Well, the German national team's Twitter account explained just after the moment and clarified everything.
"We wanted to use our captain's armband to take a stand for values that we hold in the Germany national team: diversity and mutual respect. Together with other nations, we wanted our voice to be heard," read the tweet.
"It wasn't about making a political statement – human rights are non-negotiable. That should be taken for granted, but it still isn't the case. That's why this message is so important to us.
"Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice. We stand by our position."
This isn't the first time the armband has caused so much controversy, but Germany's pointed stand is among the more prominent shows of dissent teams have taken against banning the use of the 'OneLove' armband.
But why is this such a matter of controversy to begin with?
To understand why, it's essential to go back to the root cause of the issue – Qatar. The ultra-conservative Islamic republic is notoriously anti-LGBTQIA+, and homosexuality is punishable by death in the nation.
Therefore, any pro-LGBTQIA+ stance in the nation would always be frowned upon. And FIFA wanted to go out of its way to ensure that the nation's beliefs were respected.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Germany's team photo before their match vs. Japan 🤭 <a href="https://t.co/scBY1enYKV">pic.twitter.com/scBY1enYKV</a></p>— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/1595403498694115328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Thus, FIFA prohibited teams from wearing the armband – and even mandated that any breach of the said rule would ensure the captain wearing the band would start with a yellow card.
This left a lot of teams disappointed, but the consensus among players and teams was that earning a yellow card for non-sporting reasons made no sense, and thus, they wouldn't risk it.
Netherlands skipper Virgil van Dijk admitted he was disappointed not to be able to show support to the LGBTQIA+ community, but the risk of a yellow card was not worth it.
The controversy around the matter had appeared to die, especially amid other moments of protest – like Iran's showing of support for anti-hijab demonstrations in the nation.
However, Germany's choice to make a stance has once again gotten people talking – and it has once again shown how problematic hosting a World Cup in a nation like Qatar is.
FIFA might claim they are doing all they can to spread the game of football all over the world and that to do so, it is essential to respect the traditions of a nation where the World Cup is being held.