Germany Players Cover Mouth in Group Photo amid FIFA Pressure Against OneLove Armbands

Natasha Dye
·3 min read
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Germany Players Cover Mouth in Group Photo amid FIFA Pressure Against OneLove Armbands
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Germany players made a statement in response to the ongoing pressure from FIFA not to wear the planned OneLove armbands during the World Cup.

On Wednesday, the German players covered their mouths during a group photo before the team's match against Japan, which Germany lost 1-2.

Following the match, striker Kai Havertz told ESPN it's "important" to his team to "do a statement like this."

Havertz, 23, continued: "We spoke about the game, what we can do, and I think first it was the right time to do to show the people that — yeah, we try to help wherever we can. Of course, FIFA makes it not easy for us, but we tried to show with that thing."

team germany FIFA
team germany FIFA

Naoki Morita/AFLO/Shutterstock

Germany's leftwinger Julian Brandt told the outlet the decision to cover their mouths "was really spontaneous" but the team wanted to do something to make a statement on the "critical topic."

Germany was one of several teams who had planned to wear the anti-discrimination "OneLove" armbands until soccer's governing body FIFA announced on Monday that the captains of teams who wear them will be given a yellow card.

RELATED: World Cup Teams Drop Plans to Wear Anti-Discrimination Armbands After Threats from FIFA

"FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play," the seven soccer teams said Monday in a joint statement. "As national federations, we can't put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including bookings."

team germany FIFA
team germany FIFA

Stefan Matzke - sampics/Corbis via Getty

FIFA said in a statement that teams could only wear FIFA-issued armbands. The organization said they had different armbands designated for each stage of the tournament, and after the seven teams dropped their plans to wear the OneLove bands, FIFA would allow the use of their own No Discrimination armbands throughout the four weeks of play.

RELATED: FIFA Bans Alcohol Sales Inside Stadiums 48 Hours Before Qatar World Cup Begins

The statement read: "Following discussions, FIFA can confirm its No Discrimination campaign has been brought forward from the planned quarter-finals stage in order that all 32 captains will have the opportunity to wear this armband during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022."

A general view shows flags of (L to R) Costa Rica, Wales, the United States, Morocco, and Poland, nations which qualified for the 2022 World Cup in the Qatari capital Doha during a flag-raising ceremony of the last remaining countries to qualify, on June 16, 2022.
A general view shows flags of (L to R) Costa Rica, Wales, the United States, Morocco, and Poland, nations which qualified for the 2022 World Cup in the Qatari capital Doha during a flag-raising ceremony of the last remaining countries to qualify, on June 16, 2022.

MUSTAFA ABUMUNES/AFP via Getty

FIFA stated that the decision is "in line with" FIFA Equipment Regulations. "For FIFA Final Competitions, the captain of each Team must wear the captain's armband provided by FIFA."

The statement claimed that these regulations "exist to preserve the integrity of the field of play for all participants" and are "equally applicable to all competing teams."

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The 2022 World Cup has received continued backlash around host country Qatar's systemic discrimination against women and the LGBTQ+ community, as well as the reported deaths of 37 migrant workers who were helping to construct the stadiums where the World Cup will be held.