The English Football Association (FA) accused FIFA of “scandalous” behavior in the case of the use of the “One Love” armband (One love, in Portuguese) at World Cup matches in Qatar. According to the chief executive of the FA, the body that oversees world football threatened to apply “unlimited sanctions” to anyone who carried the banner in support of the LGBTIAQ+ community – homosexuality is prohibited in Qatar and demonstrations of support have been suppressed in the competition.
“We are frustrated, angry, we found it outrageous the way everything was handled???????? [Esta postura da FIFA] it gets us nowhere. We wanted to show our support for the community. [homossexual] and we were not able to do it, ”said the British soccer leader in an interview with ITV.
Since being chosen to host the 2022 World Cup, Qatar has come under various criticism, particularly regarding its positions on human rights, LGBTIAQ+ issues and the abuse of migrant workers. Given this context, some federations, including the English one, came together in September to express themselves through the “One Love” initiative, a defender of equality, in which apologists for the symbolic use of a bracelet with the inscription and colors of the rainbow , but FIFA warned that it was not possible.
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According to Mark Bullingham, the federation held several meetings with FIFA on the issue, but before England’s opening World Cup match against Iran on Saturday, they were informed of the sanctions. “We thought we had reached a point where it was possible to use [a braçadeira]???????? We did not have authorization, but we would accept the fine,” he reported. A scenario that practically changed in the last hour of the game: “Two hours before the game, we entered the locker room with five referees and were placed on a stage where, at a minimum, whoever was wearing the armband would be warned and subject to disciplinary action”, he began to explain.
“The sanctions were unlimited, they would take disciplinary action against any player wearing the armband,” he added. When asked by ITV if this would mean that any player wearing the armband risk being suspended for one or more matchesthe British federation official was adamant: “That same”????????
For the FA, the team could still risk losing points if it goes ahead with the solidarity action: “It was not clear, although they said they would take disciplinary action and that there is unlimited liability in this field.”
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The controversy over the decisions of the body that oversees world football has been one of the main themes of the competition in Dubai. As a measure to combat the use of the rainbow band, the FIFA advances the “No to Discrimination” campaignwhich was to start in the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup, to allow the 32 team captains to wear this bracelet during the tournament.
Source: Observadora
