Alex Scott has been widely praised as she made a stand against FIFA's latest u-turn on players wearing an anti-discrimination armband. The One Love band contains the rainbow colours associated with the Pride flag and had been set to be a strong statement in Qatar, a country which criminalises same-sex relationships.
Harry Kane was due to don the band as the England team makes its 2022 World Cup debut in their first game against Iran on Monday afternoon. Wales skipper Gareth Bale was also due to wear it in the match against the United States later in the evening. But in a joint statement on Monday morning from seven European nations who had signed up to the One Love campaign – which included England and Wales – confirmed the armbands will no longer be worn due to fear of a yellow card being issued.
It comes after FIFA threatened them with sporting sanctions. A suspension is issued after two bookings in this tournament, meaning had either player been booked ahead of kick-off, they would already be walking a tightrope.
But former Arsenal star Alex, who is part of the BBC's punditry team for the tournament, was more than happy to don the band as she appeared pitchside ahead of England's opening match. And Twitter was quickly flooded with praise for the former footballer.
@LauraKirk12 tweeted: "Oomg Alex Scott wearing the arm band! things you love to seeeeeeeeeee." @vgj9_ said: "Kudos to Alex Scott wearing the One Love band on the BBC #ENGIRA." @JiKookcm wrote: "Alex Scott is a f***ing legend for wearing that arm band #FIFAWorldCup #ENG."
@TrafalgarsBae posted: "Alex Scott wearing the One Love band. You go, girl! #FIFAWorldCup." @AmyyyHere shared: "Alex Scott wearing the One Love arm band. Brilliant." @JackDunc1 shared: "Always said if you're going to go cover this tournament, then use that platform for good. Alex Scott is showing support for LGBTQ people to millions in the UK and around the world."
@DiCiccoMethod typed: "What a leader. Alex Scott is a real one. Legend. #OneLove." @Ansh__95 commented: "@AlexScott is my hero of this World Cup, already." @awfc_louise added: "Alex Scott wearing the one love armband live on BBC coverage of the england game. what a woman, big respect."
The decision not to wear the OneLove armband due to FIFA’s ruling has been hit with criticism, with former England captain Rio Ferdinand saying the Three Lions and the other nations who wanted to wear the strap have "folded like a pack of cards".
"They’ve had one bump in the road and they’ve all folded like a pack of cards," he said on the BBC. "They can’t win as a footballer, you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. f you speak out people say, “You’re not a politician, be quiet, get back in your box”. It’s very difficult now.
"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 and this is where we go now.'"
The statement issued this morning 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.
"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."
The statement continued: “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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