World Cup Teams Drop Rainbow Armband Plans After FIFA Threat (3)

Seven national football teams, including England, will not wear a rainbow armband showing solidarity with LGBTQ rights, bowing to pressure from FIFA because players might receive a yellow card for the show of support.

The football associations of England, Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland said they made the decision in light of a threat from FIFA that captains who wear the OneLove armbands may face “sporting sanctions.”

“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,” ...