After FIFA controversially banned the wearing of ‘One Love’ armbands by various captains at the World Cup this week, FIFPro, the international football players union, have stated that this would ‘wrong’. A FIFPro statement explained:
‘We principally disagree with the premise that captains would face sanctions impacting their ability to compete in the World Cup because of collective action that was carried by teams, federations and their leaderships. By wearing the armbands, the captains would have been the vessel of collective action. Passing the threat of sanction onto them is wrong’
‘Players must have the right to express their support for human rights on and off the field of play – and we will support any of them who will use their own platforms to do so. We maintain that a rainbow flag is not a political statement but an endorsement of equality and thus a universal human right.’
The One Love armbands aimed to promote the rights of LGBTQ people in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal.
GWFN
