The Minister of Sport of France urged this Thursday, November 24, that her national team express itself regarding the controversy generated by the threats of sanctions by FIFA against those who wear the “One Love” bracelet in Qatar.
A day earlier, the players of the German national team covered their mouths with their hands in front of the photographers before starting the game against Japan.
They did it as a protest and after FIFA threatened 7 European teams with sanctions if the captain of those teams wore the “One Love” armband, which symbolizes diversity and tolerance.
Although France is not among those 7 teams, the head of the French Football Federation (FFF), Noel LeGraet, said that if necessary “they would follow the determinations of FIFA.”
“I think that FIFA’s determination to ban the use of the ‘One Love’ armband is going to give us a lot to talk about in the future. Would I have liked there to have been freedom? The answer is obviously yes,” said the minister. Amelie Oudea Castera to public TV Public Senat.
“One Love” bracelets and the French team in Qatar
While the players and France coach Didier Deschamps said they were only following orders from their federation, Oudea Castera said he hopes things will change.
“There are still several weeks of the World Cup in which the players will be free to express themselves, to use these spaces of freedom to send their messages to millions of people,” said the minister. And she added: “The Germans are showing it.”
“Our players have values, they are part of a country that holds these values very high and it is important that they represent them,” he said.
When asked about the “One Love” bracelet before France’s first game against Australia, which ended 4-1 in favor of the French team, captain Hugo Lloris said: “FIFA has organized this competition and defines the framework and rules.
“We, the players, are asked to play football, to represent our countries as best as possible in sporting terms,” added the capital of France, clearly differentiating from the Germans.
“I prefer to stay in my position as a player of a sports competitor. They are commendable causes and they should be supported, but FIFA decides the organization”, he pointed out.
The message of the “One Love” bracelets
The “OneLove” bracelets, which seek to send messages of tolerance and opposition to any form of discrimination, have been at the center of the discussion since FIFA threatened to apply sanctions to the captains of European teams who said they would wear them to support the group. LGBTQ, absolutely subdued in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal.
National teams from Belgium, Denmark, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Wales were to wear the “One Love” armbands and then backed out when threatened by FIFA.
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