The German national football team held an action before the start of the World Cup group stage match with the Japanese team.
The Bundestim players in the team photo covered their mouths with their hand. The press service of the German Football Union (DFB) explained the reasons for this action by the fact that the International Football Federation (FIFA) did not agree on the use of armbands by team captains in support of the OneLove campaign aimed at combating discrimination.
We are not talking about a political statement — human rights are not subject to discussion. This should be taken for granted, but sometimes it still isn’t. That’s why this message is so important to us. Not allowing us to put on a blindfold (OneLove) is the same as denying us the right to vote. We stand by our position, – the statement reads.
Earlier it was reported that the DFB may appeal to The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in connection with FIFA’s ban on using the armband.
The Royal Netherlands Football Union (KNVB) previously announced that FIFA would punish team captains with a yellow card for deciding to take the field with the OneLove armband. On Monday, the football federations of seven countries announced that they would abandon plans to use these armbands at the World Championship because of FIFA’s decision.
