Human rights organisation Amnesty International have hit out at Fifa after they pressured competing nations to pull out from using OneLove armbands.
The world football governing body were reportedly threatening nations with sanctions such as bookings before kick-off to captains who weren’t wearing the Fifa-issued armlets.
This led to several nations, including England and Wales, releasing a joint statement announcing that they had backed down from wearing the OneLove circlet during the tournament. A snippet of the statement read: “Fifa has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play.
“As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games.
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Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Economic and Social Justice, hit back at Fifa saying it was only the latest example of the governing body failing to uphold its own values.
He said: “Last minute threats to sanction players for wearing messages in support of human rights and equality is the latest example of FIFA failing to fully uphold its own values and responsibilities. Sport does not happen in a vacuum and these are issues on which FIFA should be leading, not cracking down on.
“Agreements on armbands, and better protections for LGBT communities, should have been reached a long time ago.
“We applaud the courage of teams and players who have spoken out about human rights and we hope they continue to do so. Fans, players and FAs want to ensure that football can be a vehicle to promote human rights, and FIFA needs to heed these calls quickly. It must not only encourage messages of equality, but take proactive action to ensure LGBTI people are protected.
“And let’s not forget the migrant workers who made the tournament possible. They must be compensated in full for the unspeakable abuse they suffered.”
