England faced “extreme blackmail” from FIFA before deciding to scrap plans for captain Harry Kane to wear a One Love armband at the World Cup, a senior official from Germany’s football federation has claimed.
Steffen Simon, the DFB head of media, said that the decision to not display the armband was “very painful” but the European teams “are not impostors” who have “betrayed” their values and support for discriminated communities.
Wales' Gareth Bale was also meant to wear the symbol along with the skippers of Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Switzerland and Germany in a gesture of solidarity with the LGBT community. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar with gay men and women facing seven-year jail sentences.
