FIFA is facing calls to remove a video assistant referee from the 2026 World Cup after an anti-racism monitoring group claimed a hand gesture made during a live broadcast resembled a symbol linked to white supremacist movements.

The controversy centers on Australian official Shaun Evans, who was shown on television before Germany's opening match against Curaçao on Sunday. During the introduction of the VAR team, Evans appeared to make an "OK" sign with his right hand while standing alongside fellow officials.

The incident has drawn criticism from the Fare network, a long-time partner of FIFA and UEFA that monitors racist and discriminatory behavior at international football matches. The organization said the gesture appeared similar to a symbol that has been adopted by far-right groups in some contexts.

Fare calls for action

“Advice from our experts is that the gesture used clearly resembles an upside down ‘OK’ hand symbol used as a ‘white power’ symbol in global far-right circles,” the Fare network said in a statement.

“Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup,” it added, also describing the gesture as “neo-Nazi.”

The gesture in question involves touching the thumb and forefinger together to form a circle while extending the remaining fingers. In 2019, the New York-based Anti-Defamation League designated the symbol as a hate symbol, noting that it had been used by white supremacists and other far-right groups.

Context behind the symbol

It remains unclear whether Evans was making a political statement or taking part in what is commonly known as the "circle game", a prank in which a person flashes an upside-down OK sign below their waist and attempts to trick others into looking at it.

The gesture gained attention online after being appropriated by far-right groups, following a campaign that reportedly began as a hoax on the message board 4chan before spreading more widely.

Shaun Evans. Credit: Carmen Mandato - FIFA / Getty

When the Anti-Defamation League added the symbol to its hate symbol database in 2019, Oren Segal, director of the ADL’s Centre on Extremism, stressed the importance of examining the circumstances surrounding its use.

At the time, he said: “There is enough of a volume of use for hateful purposes that we felt it was important to add.”

Questions raised over broadcast appearance

Evans is one of 30 VAR officials selected by FIFA to work at the World Cup across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The VAR team operates from the tournament's broadcast centre in Dallas, despite Germany's match against Curaçao taking place in Houston.

Fare also questioned why the gesture was made during a televised introduction.

“Why is a VAR supervisor using this symbol at a global football event at the very moment he knows the cameras are on him?” Fare said. “We note that in the two subsequent games it appears TV directors have stopped introducing the VAR panel to the TV audience.”

No decision had been announced by FIFA regarding Evans' role in the tournament at the time of publication.

Featured image credit: Carmen Mandato - FIFA / Getty

UEFA has blocked a rainbow stadium display at the Euro 2020 tournament as it claimed the gesture has a "political context."

The organization denied a request to light up the Munich-based stadium in rainbow colors during Pride Month ahead of the Germany vs Hungary game.

Per Independent, the request for the display was received from the mayor of the German city, Dieter Reiter, on Monday, June 21.

The organization explained that the request was made because in Hungary, there is a law that prevents LGBTQ+ people from appearing in educational materials or programs for those under 18.

UEFA, after explaining its reasoning, then suggested alternative dates that the stadium could be lit up in the Pride colors.

"Racism, homophobia, sexism, and all forms of discrimination are a stain on our societies - and represent one of the biggest problems faced by the game today," a statement read.

It continued: "Discriminatory behavior has marred both matches themselves and, outside the stadiums, the online discourse around the sport we love.

"However UEFA, through its statutes, is a politically and religiously neutral organization. Given the political context of this specific request - a message aiming at a decision taken by the Hungarian national parliament - Uefa must decline this request."

Per Daily Mail, the decision to prevent the display from taking place because of alledged political reasons comes after the UFEA allowed players to take the knee before their games.

This is a political gesture that originated in America, which is used to protest racial inequality.

Hungary Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said: "Thank God that in the circles of European football leadership common sense still prevails and they did not play along with the political provocation. UEFA made the right decision..."

The new dates that have been proposed to light up the Allianz Arena are June 28 or between June 3 and July 9.

The initial motion to light up the stadium read: "The Bavarian state capital supports diversity, tolerance and genuine equality in sport and in society.

"On the occasion of the match between Germany and Hungary, the council wishes to send a visible message of solidarity to the LGBT community in Hungary, which is suffering under recent legislation passed by the Hungarian government."

Featured image credit: Alamy / MoiraM

Donald Trump’s administration was dragged into further disrepute after it banned one of Africa’s top referees from entering the country, and now the White House has come out to explain its decision.

With the FIFA World Cup just days away, Somali referee Omar Artan was due to make history by becoming the first official to represent the country at FIFA’s flagship tournament.

However, upon arriving in Miami, Artan was subjected to a lengthy interrogation from US immigration officers before being sent home.

Somalia is currently one of the countries on the United States’ “banned list”, which prohibits travel to and from the East African nation due to concerns around safety and immigration.

What did the White House say in its statement?

The White House has since explained its decision to bar Artan from entry, with Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House task force for the 2026 World Cup, saying: "There have been some officials that have been denied, and for good reason."

Responding to the question, Giuliani added: "We're striking that balance between making sure that any bad actors that try to come into the country under the guise of the World Cup will not get access to the United States."

Omar Artan was denied entry to the United States, despite being a referee for the upcoming World Cup. Credit: Hector Vivas - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

In a statement to Fox, Giuliani said: "This individual was seeking admission to the United States. Upon further inspection by CBP, derogatory information, including association with suspected members of terror organizations, was discovered making the traveler ineligible for admission to the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

He continued: “The traveler was refused admission and given immigration forms that provide the section of law used to complete an expedited removal under 8235 of the INA. President Trump's administration will not allow any security threat to enter our country - full stop.”

Ongoing immigration restrictions in the US

This comes after numerous players, officials, and fans have either been detained or denied access to the United States for similar reasons.

Due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, Iran’s national side has been forced to house its training base in Mexico, only permitted to access the US for games.

While Artan was denied entry, he was greeted by hundreds of fans when he arrived back in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

“What happened has happened and it was unfortunate. I am grateful for the support Fifa gave me,” Artan said.

Despite the ongoing civil war, Artan urged his compatriots to support the country, “Somalia is ours, whether things are good or bad. I want to tell our youth not to lose hope in our country. I am now in my country, and there is no other place I want to be.”

“I promise you, God willing, that I will attend the next one,” he said as hundreds of supporters at the airport waved the Somali flag. “I want the Somali public to take comfort in this and remain confident.”

Featured Image. Credit: Hector Vivas - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

The objectification of women in sports is a tale as old as time. Whether that is scantily clad "grid girls" standing in front of cars before the Grands Prix or the Darts Corporation's "walk-on girls", there is a long history of women being treated as accoutrements in live sporting competitions. Now while the aforementioned practices have since banned the use of both "grid girls" and "walk-on girls", one game where women are still prized solely on their looks is, of course, the football.

Certainly, whenever watching televised football, the camera always seems to zoom in on one of two things: children holding amusing signs, and beautiful women.

This practice may be about to change, however. In a bid to tackle sexism, television stations have been told by FIFA to stop zooming in on attractive women within the crowds.

The head of sustainability and diversity at FIFA, Federico Addiechi, has spoken positively of the changes. "We've done it with individual broadcasters. We've done it with our host broadcast services," he stated, before explaining that FIFA is prepared to "take action against things that are wrong".

There have been an unprecedented number of reports of sexism at this year's World Cup, with female reporters allegedly being harassed, not just online, but in public too. Certainly, while pre-tournament concerns that Russia 2018 would see a barrage of homophobic and racist attacks have not materialised, accounts of sexist behaviour have been rife.
The anti-discrimination collective, Fare Network, have been working with FIFA to monitor behaviour and attitudes in and around the World Cup games, and its executive director, Piara Powar, has since stated that sexism has been the biggest issue at Russia 2018.

Speaking to journalist at a press conference about diversity issues before England's semi-final against Croatia, Powar said that he and his time have "documented more than 30 cases" of mostly Russian women being "accosted in the streets" by male football fans. He added, however, that the real number of incidents is likely to be "10 times this".

He also said that there have been several cases of female reporters being kissed or groped while on air.

When quizzed on what FIFA could do to tackle such behaviour, Addiechi explained that the federation has been working with local organisers and the Russian police to identify these fans, some of which have since lost their FAN-IDs and been ordered out of the country.
Addiechi has since clarified that halting the zooming in on "hot women" in the crowds is "one of the activities that we definitely will have in the future - it's a normal evolution."We have done it on a case-by-case basis when some cases arose and they were pretty evident."

"We've done it with individual broadcasters. We've done it as well with our host broadcast services," he continued, before adding that it is not yet part of "proactive campaign".

The German national team staged a powerful protest during their pre-match team photograph, as a response to being told they cannot wear One Love armbands.

Countries such as Germany, England, Denmark, Wales, Belgium, Netherlands, and Switzerland were due to wear the One Love armband which was established in September to: "Use the power of football to promote inclusion and send a message against discrimination of any kind as the eyes of the world fall on the global game," per ESPN.

However, in a move that caused controversy, FIFA issued a warning to the teams that wearing the armbands would result in a fine for their country's footballing body, and on-field punishments for players, such as yellow cards, as reported by Sky News.

The armband promotes tolerance, diversity, and LGBTQIA+ rights. Homosexuality is considered a crime in the tournament's host nation, Qatar, and is punishable by a prison sentence, per CNN.

After the teams opted to no longer wear the armband, the German national team took to the field and let their feelings be known about being unable to express their views.

Before their opening game against Japan, the players from Germany huddled together for a photograph, where they each placed their hands over their mouths, as an indication that they are being silenced.

The team's official Twitter account offered context to the protest: "We wanted to use our captain’s armband to take a stand for values that we hold in the Germany national team: diversity and mutual respect. Together with other nations, we wanted our voice to be heard."

They added: "It wasn’t about making a political statement – human rights are non-negotiable. That should be taken for granted, but it still isn’t the case. That’s why this message is so important to us. Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice. We stand by our position."

Six of Germany's starting eleven had rainbow-colored laces on their boots, a move which allowed them to show their support for the campaign despite the no armband policy, per the Guardian.

The German protest didn't end there, as the country's interior minister, Nancy Faeser, was seen wearing the banned One Love armband whilst sitting next to Gianni Infantino, FIFA's president.

As reported by the Guardian, Germany's footballing body DFB will be seeking legal action against FIFA for the banning of the armbands. This comes after supermarket chain REWE cut commercial ties with the team following the announcement that the armband would not be worn.

Stefan Simon, DFB's spokesperson, told BILD: "Fifa has forbidden us from using a symbol of diversity and human rights. It said the ban would be linked to massive penalties (in the nature of) sporting sanctions without concretizing exactly what it meant. The DFB is keen to clarify whether Fifa’s procedure is in fact legitimate."

There has been no comment from FIFA on the protest.

Featured image credit: dpa / Alamy

A petition to ban racists from all football matches for life has hit 1,000,000 signatures.

This comes after England players were subject to widely condemned racist abuse after the team lost their first major final since 1966 through penalty shootouts against Italy.

Players Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, and Jadon Sancho were mostly subject to the abuse - but have received an outpouring of support from high-profile names like captain Harry Kane, who condemned the vile comments.

Kane wrote of the abuse they have received: "Three lads who were brilliant all summer had the courage to step up and take a pen when the stakes were high. They deserve support and backing not the vile racist abuse they've had since last night.

"If you abuse anyone on social media you're not an England fan and we don't want you."

Others have signed the petition - titled "Ban racists for life from all football matches in England" - to show their support, and it has since garnered over 1,026,000 signatures since its creation on July 12.

The petition reads: "After [Sunday's] match, vile racist abuse was directed at our heroic players Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, and Jadon Sancho. Minutes after the final whistle of the Euro final, The Football Association issued a statement which said: 'We could not be clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behavior is not welcome in following the team. We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible'.

"As multi-racial football fans, we finally feel represented by this anti-racist and inclusive England team. We could not be more proud or inspired by our magnificent team and by their talent, bravery, leadership, and love for all. Gareth Southgate’s England team plays for ALL of us."

"Our England team stood up for all of us - now we must stand up for them," it concludes.

As well as signing the petition, some people have also taken to the comments section to express their disdain for what took place after the Euro 2020 final.

James Smith wrote: "I'm sick of a minority of English people dragging the name of the country [through] the dirt with their disgusting actions.

"It's time that they were faced with the consequences of their actions."

Signee Joanna Elsley added: "There is no place for racism in this world. I want my children to grow in a world full of love peace & positivity where everyone is equal & respected [sic]."

Since the petition reached a million signatures, it has become one of the most-signed petitions on Change.org.

Featured image credit: Alamy / kolvenbach