The England and Wales soccer teams have opted against wearing OneLove armbands during their matched in the FIFA men's World Cup in Qatar.
The OneLove rainbow armbands are usually worn as a sign of alliance with the LGBTQIA+ community. Per CNN, homosexuality in Qatar is illegal and punishable by up to three years in prison.
As reported by Sky News, the decision comes after FIFA issued a warning to the teams, saying that the team's respective captains - Harry Kane and Gareth Bale - will face an instant yellow card should they proceed with wearing the band.
A joint statement from the football associations of England, Wales, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, Belgium reads: "Fifa has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play.
Check out the BBC's damning opening monologue to the tournament below:"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."
The statement adds that the teams are "frustrated" by FIFA's decision to go against the armbands, adding that they believe it is "unprecedented".
The associations added that a letter was written to FIFA back in September, "informing them of our wish to wear the One Love armband to actively support inclusion in football, and had no response."
On Sunday (November 20), the World Cup officially kicked off in Qatar, with a lavish opening ceremony.
The host nation - the first Arab country to ever host the games - then went on to lose 2-0 to Ecuador in its first game.
England will play their first game in the tournament later today against Iran. Additionally, Wales are set to play the USA this evening.
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