Gianni Infantino appears to SUPPORT OneLove armband in German minister pic after banning World Cup stars from wearing it
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been pictured appearing to SUPPORT the OneLove armband, despite banning its use during the World Cup.
A collection of seven competing nations were set to wear the armband in a show of support for LGBTQ+ community, but Fifa warned stars they may be booked if they wear it.
However, while next to German minister Nancy Faeser, Infantino was snapped posing with a smile on his face and pointing at the armband.
Infantino, who became Fifa president in 2016, launched a stunning attack on the West following intense criticism of Qatar before the World Cup.
He said: “This criticism is profoundly unjust. You don’t start accusing, fighting, insulting. You start engaging. We have heard many moral lessons from Europe and the western world.
“But for what we Europeans have done over the past 3,000 years we should apologise for the next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons here.
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“Reform and change takes time. It took hundred of years in Europe. The only way to compare results is by engaging and dialogue, not by hammering and insults.”
His support for the armband follows on from his admission that LGBTQ+ rights in Qatar DO need to improve.
He said: “I can confirm that everyone is welcome. I have had this conversation several times. Anyone who says the opposite, it is not the opinion of the country or of Fifa.
“Everyone who comes to Qatar must be welcome and is welcome. Whatever religion, race, sexual orientation. That is our requirement and the Qatari state will stick to that.
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“You will tell me there is legislation here, you can go to jail for being gay. But that legislation exists in many countries. It was there in Switzerland in 1954 when they organised the World Cup.
“Yes, you can say that it is bad that it is not allowed to be publicly gay. Of course I believe it should be allowed but I went through a process.
“We have to welcome everybody. It is right that football brings people together. But how many gay people were prosecuted in the past in Europe? We seem to forget that WE went through a process.”
Under threat of the bookings England and each of the other six nations involved climbed down from their stance.
In a joint statement, the teams said: “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.
“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.
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“Our players and coaches are disappointed – they are strong supporters of inclusion and will show support in other ways.”
However, Germany joined their minister’s protest performing a silent protest ahead of their shock defeat to Japan.