German Players Cover their Mouths During Team Photo in Protest of FIFA's 'OneLove' Armband Ban
- last year
Germany's players placed their hands over their mouths during a team photo ahead of their game against Japan in a World Cup Group E match on Wednesday in protest.
The action was taken after FIFA threatened sanctions against teams and their captains if they went ahead with their plan to wear the LGBTQ 'OneLove' armband.
All German players took part in the gesture in front of dozens of photographers on the pitch in Doha, Qatar - where homosexuality is illegal - ahead of the kickoff.
After the protest, the German Football Association (DFB) released an statement emphatically supporting its team, saying: 'To ban the armband is like banning our right to speak.'
Meanwhile, watching from the stands, Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Fraser wore the banned armband instead. She had disguised it underneath a pink blazer, which she took off as the game began - revealing the band and the heart-shaped logo.
Fraser was later seen sitting next to FIFA president Gianni Infantino with her armband proudly on display. They appeared to share a frosty exchange.
'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,' the DFB said on Twitter. 'Together with other nations, we wanted our voice to be heard.'
In a second tweet, DFB said: '[The gesture] 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.'
World football body FIFA had threatened seven European teams with sanctions if they wore the armband symbolising diversity and tolerance.
England, Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark had said on Monday they had been put under pressure by FIFA, and abandoned the plans to wear the symbol in the conservative Muslim country.
It was initially reported that the sanction would take the form of a yellow card to the player wearing the armband, but reports later suggested FIFA had threatened further punishments to the players and teams should they opt to wear the armband.
Speaking before the game, Fraser said FIFA's ban was a 'huge mistake'.
Not only players, but fans should also be allowed to show pro-LGBTQ symbols 'openly', she told reporters in Qatar.
Security staff at the World Cup have ordered spectators to remove items of clothing featuring rainbow logos.
Supporters should however 'make a decision for themselves' about whether they wanted to wear the symbols, Faeser said.
German government spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, said earlier in Berlin that FIFA's decision to bar captains from wearing the armbands was 'very unfortunate'.
'The rights of LGBTQ people are non-negotiable,' Hebestreit said at a regular press conference, using similar language to the DFB statement posted on Twitter later.
The German FA announced yesterday that it
The action was taken after FIFA threatened sanctions against teams and their captains if they went ahead with their plan to wear the LGBTQ 'OneLove' armband.
All German players took part in the gesture in front of dozens of photographers on the pitch in Doha, Qatar - where homosexuality is illegal - ahead of the kickoff.
After the protest, the German Football Association (DFB) released an statement emphatically supporting its team, saying: 'To ban the armband is like banning our right to speak.'
Meanwhile, watching from the stands, Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Fraser wore the banned armband instead. She had disguised it underneath a pink blazer, which she took off as the game began - revealing the band and the heart-shaped logo.
Fraser was later seen sitting next to FIFA president Gianni Infantino with her armband proudly on display. They appeared to share a frosty exchange.
'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,' the DFB said on Twitter. 'Together with other nations, we wanted our voice to be heard.'
In a second tweet, DFB said: '[The gesture] 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.'
World football body FIFA had threatened seven European teams with sanctions if they wore the armband symbolising diversity and tolerance.
England, Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark had said on Monday they had been put under pressure by FIFA, and abandoned the plans to wear the symbol in the conservative Muslim country.
It was initially reported that the sanction would take the form of a yellow card to the player wearing the armband, but reports later suggested FIFA had threatened further punishments to the players and teams should they opt to wear the armband.
Speaking before the game, Fraser said FIFA's ban was a 'huge mistake'.
Not only players, but fans should also be allowed to show pro-LGBTQ symbols 'openly', she told reporters in Qatar.
Security staff at the World Cup have ordered spectators to remove items of clothing featuring rainbow logos.
Supporters should however 'make a decision for themselves' about whether they wanted to wear the symbols, Faeser said.
German government spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, said earlier in Berlin that FIFA's decision to bar captains from wearing the armbands was 'very unfortunate'.
'The rights of LGBTQ people are non-negotiable,' Hebestreit said at a regular press conference, using similar language to the DFB statement posted on Twitter later.
The German FA announced yesterday that it