BBC pundits Rio Ferdinand and Alan Shearer have hit out at the football associations of Wales and England over their decision to pull out of wearing the OneLove armband at the World Cup.
Both sides had been determined to show their support for the campaign, which aims to "promote inclusion and send a message against discrimination of any kind" in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal.
However, FIFA warned competing nations that they would be punished with sanctions for making political messages, with Wales captain Gareth Bale expected to be yellow carded instantly at kick-off in Wales' contest with the USA on Monday. Before both sides' opening games, the FAW and the FA confirmed that they, along with five other nations, would no longer wear the armband, saying they could not put their players "in a position where they could face sporting sanctions".
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Ahead of England's opener against Iran, the BBC punditry team expressed their disappointment at the decision, with former international Ferdinand claiming that the governing bodies for both countries had "folded like a pack of cards". However, former Lioness Alex Scott showed her support for the campaign by wearing the armband while reporting from pitchside.
"You can't win as a footballer, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't," said Ferdinand, who was part of three World Cup squads with England. "If you speak out people say: you're not a politician, get back in your box.
"It's very difficult, that's why I think the federations have to be stronger. The organisations have to come at this together as a unified approach and say this is where we stand, this is where we go now. But they've had one bit of a bump in the road and they've all folded like a pack of cards."
Shearer also questioned the timing of the decision, adding that it was "not fair" on the players for a U-turn to be made so close to kick-off.
"They've done incredible work off the pitch, the England players and the England manager, including during the pandemic," he said. "The FA knew it was in the rule book that they weren't allowed to wear the armband. It's not fair on the players having to deal with this on the day of a game when it could be one of the biggest games they will ever play in.
"On the morning of a World Cup game, you're about to kick off and ready to play football. All the players should be thinking about now is how they're going to win this game.
"But it would have made a huge statement. Can you imagine Harry Kane coming out with that armband on?"
However, Alex Scott had the armband on full display as she wore it on her left arm while reporting pitchside with Kelly Somers.
The joint statement issued by the federations on Monday read: "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.
"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.
"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."
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