“We don’t want to be visible in a tournament that has cost thousands of lives.” Denmark goes to Qatar with protest shirts

A protest in the form of three t-shirts. The kit that Denmark will use in the Qatar World Cup was presented this Wednesday and Hummel, the Scandinavians’ partner brand, decided to use the new designs by leave a strong position in the country that will host the competition.

The first team shirt is completely red, with only the decal of the brand and the symbol of the Danish Federation. “With the new Denmark national team jerseys, we wanted to send a double message. They are not only inspired by Euro 92, as a tribute to Denmark’s greatest success in football, but also as a protest against Qatar and its human rights record. That’s why we hide all the details of the new shirts, including our logo. We don’t want to be visible during a tournament that cost the lives of thousands of people. We support the Danish national team in all areas, but that does not mean supporting Qatar as the host country. We believe that sport should bring people together. When that doesn’t happen, we want to make a statement,” Hummel posted on social media.

The alternative equipment is exactly the same as the main one but completely white, while the third is completely black, in a choice that also deserved an explanation from the brand. “Black, the color of mourning. The perfect color for Denmark’s third jersey at this year’s World Cup. We support the Danish national team across the board, but this should not be confused with supporting a tournament that cost thousands of people their lives. We want to make a statement about the history of Qatar in relation to human rights and the treatment of migrant workers who built the World Cup stadiums,” said the brand founded in Hamburg, Germany, but based in Denmark.

Denmark is integrated into Group D, along with France, Australia and Tunisia, and appears in the World Cup in Qatar with very high expectations after a surprising performance at Euro 2020, where he only fell in the semifinals with England — in a naturally traumatic competition due to Christian Eriksen’s cardiorespiratory arrest in the first game, against Finland. The Danes were European champions in 1992, in a year in which they only reached the final by a play-off against Yugoslavia, with a team that included Peter Schmeichel and Brian Laudrup.