Fifa has rejected the Danish national soccer team’s request to be allowed to wear jerseys with the inscription “Human rights for all” during training during the soccer World Cup in Qatar. The response to Denmark’s request was “negative”, said the head of the Danish Football Association, Jakob Jensen, on Thursday of the Ritzau news agency. “We regret that, but we have to take it into account.”
The Danish Football Association had spoken out against hosting the World Cup in Qatar. He wanted to set an example when it came to defending human rights during the tournament and had announced “critical messages” on the training jerseys. Two sponsors had agreed to forgo their logo on the shirts in favor of such messages. The Danes’ game jersey will also be an expression of protest. Kit supplier Hummel announced in September that logos will be printed on the shirt but will not be contrasting in colour. A completely black jersey is also an expression of protest.
Fifa, which bans all political messages, last week urged teams participating in the World Cup to “focus on football” and not drag the sport “into any ideological or political battle”.
The Danish association denies that the slogan “human rights for all” is a political message, but says it will comply with the Fifa decision to avoid fines and sanctions.
As a World Cup host, Qatar has been criticized for years for its treatment of foreign workers, women and representatives of the LGBTQ community. The English abbreviation LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. Homosexuality is punishable in the emirate. At the beginning of the week, Qatar’s World Cup ambassador, Khalid Salman, described homosexuality as “mental damage” in a conversation with ZDF journalist Jochen Breyer.
Fifa will hardly be able to stop the politicization of the World Cup. “It is extremely important that we as the DFB concentrate on the sporting side on the one hand, but also have to clearly address what the human rights situation is in Qatar. We have to keep our eyes and ears open. We don’t want to duck away and be very clear draw attention to the grievances,” said national coach Hansi Flick at a press conference before the squad was announced on Thursday.
Flick said, without specifically addressing the Salman statements, that everyone “also noticed what happened on the Qatar side, which leaves us speechless, stunned”. On site, the DFB has “another lever. That’s what the DFB stands for, that’s what the team stands for.” He stressed the importance of the chance for the team to focus on football. The head of the delegation – and primarily responsible for socio-political issues – will be DFB President Bernd Neuendorf in Qatar.
