At the beginning of the broadcast of the World Cup preliminary round match between the United States and Wales, ZDF journalist Claudia Neumann sent a clear signal of tolerance and against FIFA’s recent actions.
The 58-year-old reporter wore a rainbow heart T-shirt and matching armband in the press box at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, as seen in Neumann’s greeting to viewers Monday night at the start of the game’s broadcast was.
“It could have been a legendary, a proud World Cup day. That’s how we all spend it with the discussions about the expressions of solidarity that we saw in one place, namely the Iran team today, the national team,” said Neumann. “The tears of the supporters in the stands will certainly be a picture of this World Cup – and then of course this silent protest by the Iranian national team when the national anthem is played.”
Earlier, the second day of the tournament was marked by discussions about Fifa’s decision to ban several teams from wearing a captain’s armband with the slogan ‘One Love’. The DFB team also announced that they would comply with the guidelines of the World Football Association and would not use the visible sign of equal rights for all ways of life and love at their World Cup appearances.
Neumann did not address this directly in her welcome – but her outfit spoke volumes. The ZDF journalist received a lot of encouragement for her positioning on social media, also far beyond Germany.
Remarkable: Before the game kicked off, a US journalist was detained by security forces at the stadium for almost half an hour, according to his own statements, because he was also wearing a T-shirt with a rainbow symbol (read more about it here).
Source: ZDF media library.
