England in dramatic last-minute U-turn over One Love armband as Harry Kane pulls out of wearing it over booking fears
HARRY KANE will NOT wear the One Love armband for England’s World Cup opener – because Fifa warned he would be booked.
England and six other European nations have pulled out of using the rainbow symbol to show support for the LGBTQ+ community worldwide.
PAHarry Kane will not wear the OneLove armband[/caption]
A joint statement from England, Wales, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark 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 aslked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games.
“We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong comitment to wearing the armband.
“However we cannot put our players in a position where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.
READ MORE ON THE WORLD CUP
“We are very frustrated by the Fifa decision which we believe is unprecedented – we wrote to Fifa in September informing them of our wish to wear the One Love armband to actively support inclusion in football, and had no response.
“Our players and coaches are disappointed – they are strong supporters of inclusion and will show support in other ways.”
German FA chiefs were warned that there was a possibility that any team skipper wearing the armband in defiance of Fifa’s demand to only wear the official slogan could be booked before the game started.
So the eight countries have decided against wearing the symbol, despite the English FA vowing to stand firm against Fifa.
PLAY OUR DREAM TEAM WORLD CUP FANTASY FOOTBALL GAME TO WIN A SHARE OF £50k
The decision comes after France skipper decided he would not wear the One Love armband in Qatar.
The captains of England, Wales, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and Holland were all keen to make a statement before coming under pressure from Fifa.
But Spurs keeper Lloris was never planning to join in the protests and said: “Fifa is organising this competition and it’s up to them to put the regulations in place.
“As players we are here to play football and represent our teams as best as we can on the sporting front.
READ MORE ON ENGLAND
“I am a player at this competition and I would prefer to stay in my box.
“There are different causes that should be supported and these movements are commendable, but it’s up to FIFA to take these decisions.”
