The German national team coach, Hansi Flick, confirmed after the “Manshafts” lost to his Japanese counterpart in the FIFA World Cup finals held in Qatar that the players of his country’s team put their hands on their mouths before the start of the match was intended to deliver a message to world public opinion.
The German national team players had put their hands to their mouths during the official photo before their match with the “Samurai” team at the opening of the Group E competitions, in protest against the refusal of the International Football Association (FIFA) to allow their team captain to wear the “One Love” badge to support the LGBT community.
The leaders of seven European teams intended to wear these badges as part of a campaign to reject discrimination during the tournament in Qatar, but the move was aborted after FIFA threatened disciplinary sanctions.
Flick said at the press conference that they wanted, through that movement, to “deliver a message that FIFA has forced them to remain silent.”
The German coach rejected what was said that one of the main reasons for the sudden loss against Japan was due to his country’s Football Association focusing on other matters off the field, saying: “This is a cheap and unacceptable excuse.”
The German national team had previously announced via its Twitter account: “We wanted to use our captain’s armband to express our attitude towards the values we uphold in the German national team: diversity and mutual respect. Together with other countries, we wanted our voice to be heard.”
“It wasn’t about a political position – human rights are non-negotiable. This should be taken for granted, but it’s not. That’s why this message is so important to us.”
On the other hand, the newspaper reportedThe TimesThe associations of the seven European national teams that have been banned by FIFA from wearing the LGBTIQ support badge intend to take legal action against FIFA.
In this regard, the CEO of the Danish Football Association, Jacob Jensen, confirmed that his country, along with Belgium, England, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Wales, have announced that they are studying legal options regarding suing FIFA and legal ways to achieve this.
The Danish Football Association also announced that it would not support Gianni Infantino’s re-election as FIFA president in the upcoming elections due to the ban on wearing the “One Love” badge.