England aims to make two solidarity gestures this Monday as part of its debut match at the 2022 World Cup against Iran. On the one hand, the coach, Gareth Southagte, has now advanced that his players will kneel before the initial whistle, as it continues to happen this season on some days in the Premier League.
Initially, this gesture was made in solidarity with the protests over the death in 2020 of African-American citizen George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis and then became an initiative in support of equality.
Southgate reckons the World Cup is, because of its size, an ideal framework for his team to continue sending a strong message in favor of integration.
Kane, determined
But England are also ready to wear, through their captain Harry Kane, the rainbow ‘One Love’ bracelet designed to express solidarity with marginalized people, including the LGTBI community, as homosexuality is banned in Qatar.
The captains of the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland, Wales, have qualified for the World Cup, as well as Sweden and Norway. They will also support the initiative despite the fact that they are exposed to a FIFA sanction.
According to The Telegraph, FIFA informed the English Football Federation (FA) that its regulations prohibit the use of rainbow armbands. Therefore, he urged the teams in question to follow the initiative launched by the football organization itself in agreement with the three UN agencies: a traditional bracelet with messages defining the claim.
Yellow card or fine?
That same Sunday, a meeting between the involved teams took place in a hotel in Doha to resolve the conflict, but it did not survive FIFA.
The FA wrote to FIFA in September to clarify whether the captains of the aforementioned teams, including Harry Kane, would see a yellow card if they wore the ‘One Love’ armband at the World Cup, but received no response until now. The FA is prepared, instead, to accept a fine.
“We made it clear that we wanted to wear the bracelet,” Kane said today. “The FA is talking to FIFA at the moment and I’m sure tomorrow, at match time, we’ll have their decision.”
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
