An LGBTQ+ football club has slammed the OneLove armband saying it was 'already an embarrassingly small gesture' towards inclusivity. Village Manchester FC, based in Manchester, issued a statement on Monday (November 21), after plans were dropped for players to wear the multi-coloured armbands due to a possible threat of sporting sanctions.
England and Wales are among the teams who will now not wear the rainbow armband in their World Cup matches after FIFA threatened them with sporting sanctions. In September, the Football Association had announced plans for a group of 10 national team captains to support the OneLove campaign in order to highlight the oppression of the LGBT+ community in Qatar.
A joint statement from seven European nations who had signed up to the OneLove campaign confirmed the armbands would no longer be worn due to fear of a yellow card being issued. Harry Kane instead wore FIFA’s ‘No discrimination’ armband – which is not rainbow coloured – as England started their campaign against Iran on Monday afternoon.
