Following FIFA's threat of yellow cards for any players wearing the "OneLove" armbands during the World Cup, the European teams including England, Germany, Wales, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands on Monday abandoned their plans to wear "OneLove" armbands in support of LGBTQ rights.
In a meeting with European soccer federations, the world soccer governing body FIFA has raised the prospect of yellow cards if the teams or any other players that pledged to wear the armband.
The new regulations came hours before England's Harry Kane, the Netherlands' Virgil van Dijk and Wales' Gareth Bale were due to wear the armbands in Monday's games.
However, FIFA offered its own solution by saying captains of all 32 teams "will have the opportunity" to wear an armband with the slogan "No Discrimination" in the group stage games.
In a statement on Monday, FIFA said, "Following discussions, FIFA can confirm its 'No Discrimination' campaign has been brought forward from the planned quarterfinals stage in order that all 32 captains will have the opportunity to wear this armband during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. This is in line with Article 13.8.1 of the FIFA Equipment Regulations, which states: "For FIFA Final Competitions, the captain of each Team must wear the captain's armband provided by FIFA."
Also read | FIFA World Cup: Messi, Ronaldo come together for first-ever joint promotion
"The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 regulations, as approved by everyone in the game, exist to preserve the integrity of the field of play for all participants and are equally applicable to all competing teams."
"FIFA is an inclusive organisation that wants to put football to the benefit of society by supporting good and legitimate causes, but it has to be done within the framework of the competition regulations which are known to everyone," it added.
After FIFA's message, the football federations issued a joint statement, saying that they can't put their players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions.
Most high-profile players, including England captain Harry Kane and Germany captain Manuel Neuer, wore rainbow armbands at the 2020 European championship.
"We can't put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions. We have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games," the federations said in a joint statement on Monday.
Also read | Ecuador keep cool to script a well-deserved 2-0 win in opening match of FIFA World Cup
"We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. However, we cannot put our players in a situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play."
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has reiterated his support of the LGBTQI+ community during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
"I have been speaking about this subject with the country's highest leadership," the FIFA President said. "They have confirmed, and I can confirm that everyone is welcome. If anyone says the opposite, well it's not the opinion of the country and it's certainly not the opinion of FIFA."
