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Southgate confirms England to take the knee at World Cup
FIFA have been slammed and branded “ridiculous” by former England defender Michael Dawson for their decision to force several Football Associations to scrap the #OneLove armband campaign. Several teams at the World Cup, including England and Wales, were planning to wear the armband during their tournament openers but have pulled out of the campaign after being told their possible punishments.
A statement from the FA confirmed that captain Harry Kane may have been shown a yellow card for wearing the armband. "FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play,” a statement read.
“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.”
Harry Kane has not been allowed to wear the #OneLove armband at the World Cup. (Image: GETTY)
However Dawson slammed the decision for taking place on the day of England’s opener against Iran and Wales’ clash with the USA after it emerged FIFA ignored the FA's request to wear the armband all the way back in September. “They've had the chance to sort this out since September, the fact it's been left until this morning is ridiculous,” Dawson told Sky Sports. “It shouldn't have come to this. This just sums it up, we've seen the things that have gone on in Qatar and with FIFA and now it's come to this on a morning of a game, I think it's ridiculous.”
Fans took to social media to show their disappointment at the action taken by the FAs. "@FA @Cymru one thing both England and Wales fans will agree on, you have let us all down by not wearing #OneLove armband,” one fan tweeted. “I am so disappointed. I’d rather be true to our beliefs and punished than succumb to #FIFAWorldCup2022 threats."
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A request to wear the armband was made several months ago, and it was anticipated that Kane and Gareth Bale would wear them during the World Cup, as fans have shown their displeasure at the latest development.
“This is poor from the FA,” another fan tweeted. “Wearing the armband would have been such a powerful image that could be shared worldwide #England."
International captains are set to wear an armband proposed by FIFA, that feature a different social campaign in each round of the competition and begin with #FootballUnitesTheWorld and do not mention specific support for the LGBTQ+ community in Qatar, a country where same-sex relationships are criminalised.