England captain Harry Kane will not wear the ‘One Love’ armband against Iran in their FIFA World Cup 2022 Group B match on Monday.
In a last-minute development the an FA statement issued a statement saying: “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.
“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 the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.
“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.”
The One Love armband is a part of a campaign to promote inclusion and send a message against discrimination of any kind. It was first launched by The Netherlands, and supported by England, France, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Wales.
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