A World Cup 2026 referee who was seen on camera appearing to making a gesture resembling a hand sign associated with white supremacists has been cleared by FIFA.
In a television broadcast shot of the video assistant referee team working on Germany’s 7-1 win against Curaçao on Sunday, Shaun Evans appeared to have his fingers in an upside down “OK” sign.
The upside down OK gesture below the waist originated as a children’s game from the US TV sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, in which players were punched on the arm if they could be tricked into looking through the circle.
However, it was designated a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in 2019 after being co-opted by white supremacist groups as a shorthand symbol for “white power”.
Evans said the hand sign was an “involuntary, subconscious twitch” and that he did not use it to “communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind”.
Following an investigation into the gesture, the football body said: “Fifa’s independent disciplinary committee can confirm that, after looking into the matter involving support video assistant referee Shaun Evans, it has found no evidence of breaches of the Fifa disciplinary code.”
