England, Wales & 5 other countries to ditch 'OneLove' armbands in World Cup after FIFA's yellow card warning

England, Wales, and five other countries taking part in the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 were planning to defy FIFA's guidelines with their captains set to wear 'OneLove' armbands expressing their support for the LGBTQ community. However, the seven countries have now been forced to ditch the move after pressure from FIFA.

England, Wales, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Switzerland on Monday announced their captains won't be wearing the special armbands after FIFA warned them of disciplinary action. The football associations of the seven countries released a joint statement expressing their disappointment over the world football governing body's decision.

FIFA had warned the associations that the captain who takes the field with the 'OneLove' armbands will be booked and receive a yellow card even before the start of the game. The yellow card threat has forced these countries to step back as a booking for the captain would affect their results on the pitch.

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"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," the seven countries said in a joint statement.

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"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," they added.

The seven countries had written to FIFA earlier this year asking for permission to wear the 'OneLove' armbands to express their support for the LGTQ community. However, their plea was met with no response from FIFA. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, a nation, which has been on the receiving end of intense criticism over its human rights record.

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The football associations of the seven countries said they were 'very frustrated' by FIFA's decision and that it has left their players and coaches disappointed.

"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."

Reacting to FIFA's yellow card threat to teams planning to go ahead with the special bands, Amnesty International slammed the world football's governing body for failing to uphold its own values and responsibilities by imposing sanctions on teams standing up for a cause.

"Last minute threats to sanction players for wearing messages in support of human rights and equality is the latest example of FIFA failing to fully uphold its own values and responsibilities," saidSteve Cockburn, the head of Amnesty International’sEconomic and Social Justice.

"Sport does not happen in a vacuum and these are issues on which FIFA should be leading, not cracking down on. Agreements on armbands, and better protections for LGBTI communities, should have been reached a long time ago," he added.