German Football Association President Bernd Neuendorf has criticized FIFA for its attempts to restrict the political activities of national teams when it comes to human rights.
Neuendorf said Friday at a pre-World Cup news conference that he was particularly disturbed by a letter from FIFA President Gianni Infantino two weeks ago urging teams to “focus on football” and put aside political issues.
He said, “The issue of human rights should not play a role now, and we should now focus here on football only. This matter disturbed us to some extent and disturbed us.”
He added that the federation had to send a clear signal that it would not be silenced.
Neuendorf also referred to FIFA’s decision to ban the Denmark national team from carrying the slogan “Human Rights for All” on their training shirts.
He said, “It was stated that this is a political statement and therefore it is prohibited. We are not talking about a political decision that can be taken in one way or another with a slogan like (human rights for all). It is about human rights, and human rights are universal and binding in all parts of the world.”
He also mentioned that Germany is cooperating with other European federations that want their leaders to wear a rainbow heart-shaped armband during World Cup matches to protest against discrimination.
“This is not a political statement, because it is a human rights statement. If it was banned, I would be fully prepared to pay a fine,” he added.