Former England soccer player Alex Scott wore the “One Love” armband during a live broadcast of the World Cup on English television. Ahead of Monday’s England-Iran game, the 38-year-old pundit, who played for England for many years, had the controversial piece of fabric on her left arm and was showing it to the BBC’s cameras in full view. The former defender was celebrated on social media for this action.
The world football association Fifa had banned the “One Love” captain’s armband at the tournament in Qatar shortly before, citing the World Cup regulations recognized by all participants as the reason. In a statement, the association explicitly emphasized Article 13.8.1 of the Equipment Rules: “For FIFA finals, the captain of each team must wear an armband provided by FIFA.” Fifa supports campaigns like “One Love”, but this must be done within the framework of the rules known to all.
This decision caused a lot of frustration for many teams. England captain Harry Kane originally wanted to be the first player to wear the special captain’s armband in the tournament at Al-Rajjan’s Chalifa International Stadium on Monday. However, these plans were rejected at short notice. The German captain Manuel Neuer will also not wear the armband as planned for the German team’s World Cup opener against Japan on Wednesday.
