On Wednesday, the eleven holder of the country decided to get their hands in front of the mouth on the team photo taken before his match against Japan. A way to protest against the epilogue of the case of the armband “One Love”.
MO12345LEMONDE with AFP
In recent days, part of the national selections present in Qatar for the World Cup has been faced with the following problem: how to express a criticism of the host country, or simply testify to a cause, without risking sports sanctions ?
Wednesday, November 23, the eleven German holder decided to conspicuously get their hands in front of the mouth on the team photo taken before their first match, against Japan. Way of denouncing the attitude of the International Federation (FIFA) preventing the wearing of a armband for the captains of the message “One Love” against discrimination – in particular against LGBTQ+.
“Stop wearing this armband is to silence us. We maintain our position,” posted the German delegation in Qatar at the same time on Twitter. And to recall:
“We wanted to use the armband to take a position in favor of values that we defend within the German selection: diversity and mutual respect. Together, with other nations, we wanted our voice to be heard. We did not want to make a political declaration, human rights are not negotiable. It should be considered acquired, but this is still not the case. “
wir wollten mit unserer kapitänsbinde ein zeichen setzen für werte, die wir in der nationalmannschaft leben: vielfs… https://t.co/vqhgoxxszw
In the official stands of the International Kalifha stadium, in Doha, the German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, sported the famous brassard “One Love”. She then put a jacket.
#onelove https://t.co/l5itndjcsi
Already the day before, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015, had wore a dress in the colors of the rainbow, which are also those of the LGBTQ+community, in the span of the stadium Ahmad-Ben-Ali, in Al-Rayyan, during the match between his country and Tunisia.
threatens of “sports sanctions”
The seven European federations, including Germany, which had planned to carry it during the competition, gave up on Monday in the face of the threat of “sports sanctions” brandished by FIFA, which did not specify them. The threat was widely criticized across the Rhine, where many voices have been raised to call the Nationalmannschaft players to challenge it. “The rights of the LGBTQ+ community are not negotiable,” the German government spokesman, Steffen Hébestreit.
First country in the Middle East to welcome the World Cup, Qatar assured that all supporters would be welcome without discrimination, although the law of the country penalizes homosexuality.