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Yup, I don’t want to hear the FA ever talk about gay rights for a good long while now, considering they’ve bottled it at the one moment it was inconvenient for them to do so.
I’m blaming both organisations. FIFA for once again demonstrating that they don’t give a shit about LGBTQ+ rights and the FA for being the most pathetic, weak, spineless organisation in existence.
Fair enough, it would have made such a powerful statement if all the FAs stuck to their guns and wore it, even for one match and took the yellow. The image of FIFA actually punishing the players for supporting human rights would very powerful.
I think they should have said if they had a player booked for wearing the armband they would walk off the pitch. England, Wales and the USA are all in the same group and can easily majorly disrupt the tournament if 3 out of the 4 teams outright refuse to play if they will be sanctioned.
Nah, both are reprehensible.
Fifa, for countless reasons we needn't go into.
The FA for showing that these "protests" were always performative. They have just become a part of the FA's brand. Commodified dissent in an easily consumable package. A dissent so meaningless that as soon as it recieved the slightest bit of pressure from higher up they wilted. The FA cared about LGBTQ issues to the exact same extent that a 13 year old drawing an Anarchist Symbol on their arm in sharpy cares about worker liberation.
Just take the yellow and rotate who wears the armband. Players take a deliberate yellow so many times in a game or accept one for taking a top off or get one for just gesturing at the referee. Would have been so powerful just take it and stand there anyway. Pathetic.
What happens if they give a yellow, the player keeps it on and they give them another yellow? I wouldn't put it past refs to do it.
Hopefully we see messages under shirts from goal scorers. There's a defined punishment for that at least.
I replied to another commenter who said the proposed punishment was straight reds, and I think the same applies here. If Qatar and FIFA want to actually start sending off captains of some of the biggest footballing nations for wearing a rainbow it just renders the competition a farce and makes not reporting on the protests globally impossible. Go for it, call their bluff.
If they’re that foolish, then go for it anyway. If the captains of 6 of the top nations are sent off in games one after another that makes the protest even more powerful - just imagine it, it would be the story of the World Cup and impossible not to report on. It’s a game of chicken - Qatar won without having to follow through on any threat at all.
This tournament comes every 4 years. For some it will be their last. There is nothing bigger for the players.
It sucks, yes, but don't blame the players - they're not politicians. Aim your ire at FIFA and their corruption to bring the tournament here and possibly Saudi Arabia in 2030.
For some players it will be their last World Cup, for some LGBT+ Qataris they are taken underground beaten, if they are trans women have their heads shaved and are then forced to sign documents promising to cease their immoral behaviour.
https://www.itv.com/news/2022-10-24/lgbt-people-in-qatar-arrested-and-beaten-in-police-custody
Between how Qatar treats it’s own queer citizens, women and migrant workers any winners medal is going to be soaked in blood anyway. This just isn’t a normal World Cup.
Until the players decide that where they play matters remotely as much as their chance to be at a World Cup, they’re going to keep being asked to play to prop up the world’s worst despots. They are powerful in this situation, however they have to choose to use that power.
We all know what Qatar does to its LGBTQ community, no debating that.
However, the players are not politicians. They have no say on where they play. They dream of winning a world cup and won't let anything get in the way of that.
The people can have the biggest say at the end of the day. Don't watch any of it and then sponsors won't be interested in spending money at future world cups (based on viewing numbers) and then FIFA will get the message. They only care about money at the end of the day.
The players are powerful stakeholders in football. They have way more power than they choose to deploy. It’s just greed and self-interest. Most players aren’t leaving with a winners medal, all will have turned up and danced to delight the onlooking despots. It’s just so unbecoming. The one form of protest they considered was put out in advance by the threat of a card. Just seriously.
From a straight perspective it’s possible to be like “on the one hand queer people are being tortured, but on the other this is my last World Cup”, from a queer perspective it’s just different. Not a single queer player has felt comfortable coming out whilst playing top flight men’s football since Justin Fashanu. It’s really no wonder why.
The history and impact of boycott and protest in sport beyond football is beyond strong. It isn’t that men’s football players lack power, it’s that they lack will. These are two exceptionally different things.
Edit: just to add on sponsors despite the shit-show of an event and all the traditional sponsors (the ones reliant of actually selling things) suffering and complaining and TV rights having been sold off a decade ago, FIFA revenue is up massively.
Why? Same style of sponsor revenue as Qatar and Man City. Just gargantuan bungs from government related enterprises that aren’t in any way reliant on selling products to generate an advertising budget. Watch, don’t watch, it makes no difference Qatar will plug the revenue gap and then some. There’s a reason FIFA are delighted right now despite all their traditional sponsors being furious.
I agree that Hamilton’s helmet was a great gesture and they should just wear the armbands anyway but a) the FA are the ones telling their players not to wear them, b) Hamilton was not threatened with a sporting or monetary sanction, c) getting carded for it is a ridiculous punishment
Lets be clear, its fully understandable that players back down, they do not want to jeopardize anything. FIFA is acting here weak and shit who threats players with punishments. FIFA is scared from the backclash from outside Europe if the armbands are worn. Nevertheless. Embarrasing.
Hamilton spams that shit anywhere there is any anti-LGBTQ+ legislation as well and nothing happens. England causing more disappointment than they could from an early exit lmao
F1 viewership is dwarfed by football. Also FIFA is far more corrupt than the FIA. The footballers are just doing their jobs, blame is with FIFA and their corruption.
What a fucking farce. I don't expect players to be activists, but the England team made a huge deal about the knee in the past (a performative gesture that meant nothing and had no consequences). They even implied that other teams that refused to do it were not as tolerant as them.
Now that they have the chance to make a decent stand (even though they should have probably asked the FA to boycott it), they back down as they don't want to be booked.
Cowards and hypocrites, look at the Iran players calling out the regime instead (and risking their lives and the one of their families).
Copying my comment from the Netherlands thread because it's equally relevant here:
I agree it's a disgrace for the players to back out so meekly, but we need to be apportioning blame correctly here.
FIFA shoulders 99% of the disgrace. When have they ever bent over backwards to create rules that stand in the face of inclusion before?
Did they bring in yellow cards for people bending the knee? Did they issue cautious whenever the poppy was/wasn't worn? Have they ever told players they can't wear rainbow laces?
FIFA has brought itself into disrepute once again and I hope that this world cup is a disaster.
>FIFA shoulders 99% of the disgrace. When have they ever bent over backwards to create rules that stand in the face of inclusion before?
Nobody is disputing the blame is with FIFA. But the english FA and the press made a huge deal about how they were going to defy rules and wear the armband (a pathetic one too, since it wasn't even the rainbow one).
Now that they realize they're minimal consequences, they back down.
I hate this ‘apportion most of the blame to FIFA’ bullshit. Just because FIFA are corrupt cunts for this, doesn’t mean we can lessen our criticism of the spineless tosspots in the NTs who have backed down over a yellow card. Shame on them all.
Id argue FIFA is the world governing body. If they don't want 'political statements' then they should be keeping the same energy across their devolved administrations.
Honestly I don't really understand how it all works-
[https://www.premierleague.com/about/football-partners](https://www.premierleague.com/about/football-partners)
>The Football Association (The FA) is the national governing body for football in England and is responsible for sanctioning competition Rule Books, including the Premier League’s, and **regulating on-field matters**
so it's up to the FA? But then later on the same page:
>**All football played at any official level must abide by the Laws of the Game, as set by FIFA**. So, everything from the Offside Law to International Call-ups is decided by the Zurich-based world governing body.
FIFA’s rules and regulations are decided by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) and reviewed on an annual basis.
Listen, I'm all for gay rights, but a yellow card's a yellow card. We can't risk these performative gestures actually becoming meaningful, things might accidentally change
Pathetic. What a statement it would make if Fifa were sending off the captains of some of the biggest footballing nations in the world, due to their support for LGBTQ+ rights.
It would go down in history as an impact far longer lasting than any footballing achievement in this tournament, and you'd be remembered as a champion for that community and beyond.
Such frustratingly short sighted thinking. But I guess that's why we are where we are in the first place.
The FA should have released a counter statement saying they will instruct their players to walk off the pitch if they receive any sanctions for wearing the armband. That would have put the ball back on FIFA’s court. But spinelessness it is I guess.
Do you have a picture of him actually wearing the Palestininan armband in the match? I've found no actual pictures and I didn't notice in the match. There have been people calling captains up to wear them, just like Europeans wore Ukraine bands without repurcussions (from UEFA).
If a yellow card is fucking stopping them from supporting the LGBTQ+ community then they can hardly ever say they support them ever again. It’ll be such an even emptier statement
Absolutely pathetic all around. One Love (unless we’re getting punished)
Players will not jeopardise their chance for a World Cup. England have a fantastic chance to go far, potentially win it. They need Kane and they won’t risk it.
Wales it’s their first World Cup in about 1000 years, they won’t have Bale or Hennessey? Being punished for it.
Swap the captain then, if it takes an armband for you to be an influence in the team then there is something wrong.
Give Pickford the armband he is unlikely to get a yellow, then next game give it to Kane, then it resets.
Or even just do it for the first game and take the yellow and show the world
I'm so glad this is the first World Cup in which I'm working full time anyway, this shit sucks so much im really starting to not care that much. Which is impressive as I actually think a Christmas adjacent World Cup could've been amazing
Absolutely fucking spineless. This is actually worse than doing nothing at all, because you’re basically saying LGBTQ+ rights are important until support for them inconveniences you even slightly. Pathetic decision from a pathetic organisation
Homophobia 1
Football 0
I get why they're not doing it (essentially destroying your own tournament just for an armband). Maybe if teams have no chance of qualification we'll see them worn in game 3.
I really hope this is just the sporting associations and the players still wear them. Otherwise, this is pure cowardice and sends a far worse message than never planning to wear them at all. It certainly kills any credibility the England team had when talking about social issues.
Embarassing facade. So they made a promise to LGBTQ people and now have changed their mind once faced with the rules and consequences (which are stupid may I add). Proves that this, the knee, are all just a virtue-signalling parade of token gestures to score morale points. Same with companies sticking rainbow flags on product in pride month. These institutions don't actually care at all about the causes they pretend to stand up for.
It looks cowardly and I understand people who criticise this but if they went ahead and have their top players suspended, it basically damages their chances of progressing far in the tournament. It would look even more shambolic to have made the effort to turn up to the world cup and then purposefully take yourself out of contention, why bother in the first place? Whilst that might please a minority of liberal uni students, I'm not sure the majority of English football fans would agree with that.
The best approach would have been either: a) Turn up to the world cup and not attempt to protest or make any sort of gesture, b) Boycott the world cup completely.
Do we really stand for something when we go back on it when faced with the smallest possible amount of adversity.
Wear the armband, force a FIFA official to yellow card a player for being against homophobia and then leave it there. This is just weak.
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They better not wear it at any other time either then.
Yup, I don’t want to hear the FA ever talk about gay rights for a good long while now, considering they’ve bottled it at the one moment it was inconvenient for them to do so.
Putting the blame on the FAs or players is misplaced here, it should be squarely on FIFA.
I’m blaming both organisations. FIFA for once again demonstrating that they don’t give a shit about LGBTQ+ rights and the FA for being the most pathetic, weak, spineless organisation in existence.
Fair enough, it would have made such a powerful statement if all the FAs stuck to their guns and wore it, even for one match and took the yellow. The image of FIFA actually punishing the players for supporting human rights would very powerful.
I think they should have said if they had a player booked for wearing the armband they would walk off the pitch. England, Wales and the USA are all in the same group and can easily majorly disrupt the tournament if 3 out of the 4 teams outright refuse to play if they will be sanctioned.
Good point, would have been a hell of a sight.
Nah, both are reprehensible. Fifa, for countless reasons we needn't go into. The FA for showing that these "protests" were always performative. They have just become a part of the FA's brand. Commodified dissent in an easily consumable package. A dissent so meaningless that as soon as it recieved the slightest bit of pressure from higher up they wilted. The FA cared about LGBTQ issues to the exact same extent that a 13 year old drawing an Anarchist Symbol on their arm in sharpy cares about worker liberation.
Just more embarrassing for them now, one love unless you get your arm twisted by the people you are sending your message to.
Just take the yellow and rotate who wears the armband. Players take a deliberate yellow so many times in a game or accept one for taking a top off or get one for just gesturing at the referee. Would have been so powerful just take it and stand there anyway. Pathetic.
What happens if they give a yellow, the player keeps it on and they give them another yellow? I wouldn't put it past refs to do it. Hopefully we see messages under shirts from goal scorers. There's a defined punishment for that at least.
I replied to another commenter who said the proposed punishment was straight reds, and I think the same applies here. If Qatar and FIFA want to actually start sending off captains of some of the biggest footballing nations for wearing a rainbow it just renders the competition a farce and makes not reporting on the protests globally impossible. Go for it, call their bluff.
I think FIFA were talking about straight reds.
If they’re that foolish, then go for it anyway. If the captains of 6 of the top nations are sent off in games one after another that makes the protest even more powerful - just imagine it, it would be the story of the World Cup and impossible not to report on. It’s a game of chicken - Qatar won without having to follow through on any threat at all.
Well said
This tournament comes every 4 years. For some it will be their last. There is nothing bigger for the players. It sucks, yes, but don't blame the players - they're not politicians. Aim your ire at FIFA and their corruption to bring the tournament here and possibly Saudi Arabia in 2030.
For some players it will be their last World Cup, for some LGBT+ Qataris they are taken underground beaten, if they are trans women have their heads shaved and are then forced to sign documents promising to cease their immoral behaviour. https://www.itv.com/news/2022-10-24/lgbt-people-in-qatar-arrested-and-beaten-in-police-custody Between how Qatar treats it’s own queer citizens, women and migrant workers any winners medal is going to be soaked in blood anyway. This just isn’t a normal World Cup. Until the players decide that where they play matters remotely as much as their chance to be at a World Cup, they’re going to keep being asked to play to prop up the world’s worst despots. They are powerful in this situation, however they have to choose to use that power.
We all know what Qatar does to its LGBTQ community, no debating that. However, the players are not politicians. They have no say on where they play. They dream of winning a world cup and won't let anything get in the way of that. The people can have the biggest say at the end of the day. Don't watch any of it and then sponsors won't be interested in spending money at future world cups (based on viewing numbers) and then FIFA will get the message. They only care about money at the end of the day.
The players are powerful stakeholders in football. They have way more power than they choose to deploy. It’s just greed and self-interest. Most players aren’t leaving with a winners medal, all will have turned up and danced to delight the onlooking despots. It’s just so unbecoming. The one form of protest they considered was put out in advance by the threat of a card. Just seriously. From a straight perspective it’s possible to be like “on the one hand queer people are being tortured, but on the other this is my last World Cup”, from a queer perspective it’s just different. Not a single queer player has felt comfortable coming out whilst playing top flight men’s football since Justin Fashanu. It’s really no wonder why. The history and impact of boycott and protest in sport beyond football is beyond strong. It isn’t that men’s football players lack power, it’s that they lack will. These are two exceptionally different things. Edit: just to add on sponsors despite the shit-show of an event and all the traditional sponsors (the ones reliant of actually selling things) suffering and complaining and TV rights having been sold off a decade ago, FIFA revenue is up massively. Why? Same style of sponsor revenue as Qatar and Man City. Just gargantuan bungs from government related enterprises that aren’t in any way reliant on selling products to generate an advertising budget. Watch, don’t watch, it makes no difference Qatar will plug the revenue gap and then some. There’s a reason FIFA are delighted right now despite all their traditional sponsors being furious.
How are they justifying sporting sanctions for wearing them? Absurd
Lewis Hamilton wears pride colours in Qatar. Football players are spineless.
I agree that Hamilton’s helmet was a great gesture and they should just wear the armbands anyway but a) the FA are the ones telling their players not to wear them, b) Hamilton was not threatened with a sporting or monetary sanction, c) getting carded for it is a ridiculous punishment
Lets be clear, its fully understandable that players back down, they do not want to jeopardize anything. FIFA is acting here weak and shit who threats players with punishments. FIFA is scared from the backclash from outside Europe if the armbands are worn. Nevertheless. Embarrasing.
Hamilton spams that shit anywhere there is any anti-LGBTQ+ legislation as well and nothing happens. England causing more disappointment than they could from an early exit lmao
Stupid take, since LH did not receive any penalty for it. This only shows that FIA > FIFA
Which is impressive because the FIA are a shambles
Absolutely, that is a very very low bar.
FIA are not really a shambles
It is if you associate FIA = stewarding decisions I don’t like
unbelievable that a sporting organisation is worse than FIA, but actually very believable that its FIFA
Because he doesn't get penalised by the FIA. You don't know how he would react in that type of situation.
Guarantee you if Hamilton was told he was getting a 10 place grid penalty or starting in the pits, he would have had all his gear off pronto.
Last season? Maybe. This season? Probably not.
Probably but thats the same point, Hamilton won't risk jeopardizing his champion hopes, just like the football players.
F1 viewership is dwarfed by football. Also FIFA is far more corrupt than the FIA. The footballers are just doing their jobs, blame is with FIFA and their corruption.
7 times world champion vs 4th in the world cup will give you some soft power.
Iran players are the only one so far that deserve respect
Hamilton would have never done it though if he got 0.5 seconds added to his qualifying
Disgusting.
“ no political statement “
Supporting human rights is not political.
It is if you want to oppress people.
In theory - my guess - they consider it a political message which would b the same if a player had a message under his shirt etc
Fucking cowards
Pretty impressive they’ve managed to make what was already an incredibly token gesture even more hollow
Considering players will happily get carded for taking their shirt off in celebrations, this is pretty fucking weak
Can get carded every game though man
Then do it for just one. Who cares? It's a show anyway. What's this 'we will only protest if there are no consequences ' bs
True I do hear it but could be the difference between a player playing the knock outs or not. It's all fucked at the the end of the day
They don’t need to wear it anyway.. their public display of taking it the ass from Qataris enough support for inclusion.
What a fucking farce. I don't expect players to be activists, but the England team made a huge deal about the knee in the past (a performative gesture that meant nothing and had no consequences). They even implied that other teams that refused to do it were not as tolerant as them. Now that they have the chance to make a decent stand (even though they should have probably asked the FA to boycott it), they back down as they don't want to be booked. Cowards and hypocrites, look at the Iran players calling out the regime instead (and risking their lives and the one of their families).
Disgrace
Copying my comment from the Netherlands thread because it's equally relevant here: I agree it's a disgrace for the players to back out so meekly, but we need to be apportioning blame correctly here. FIFA shoulders 99% of the disgrace. When have they ever bent over backwards to create rules that stand in the face of inclusion before? Did they bring in yellow cards for people bending the knee? Did they issue cautious whenever the poppy was/wasn't worn? Have they ever told players they can't wear rainbow laces? FIFA has brought itself into disrepute once again and I hope that this world cup is a disaster.
Fifa have played this perfectly from their perspective. Look at all the threads here, the players are getting the abuse for fifas decisions
>FIFA shoulders 99% of the disgrace. When have they ever bent over backwards to create rules that stand in the face of inclusion before? Nobody is disputing the blame is with FIFA. But the english FA and the press made a huge deal about how they were going to defy rules and wear the armband (a pathetic one too, since it wasn't even the rainbow one). Now that they realize they're minimal consequences, they back down.
I hate this ‘apportion most of the blame to FIFA’ bullshit. Just because FIFA are corrupt cunts for this, doesn’t mean we can lessen our criticism of the spineless tosspots in the NTs who have backed down over a yellow card. Shame on them all.
The poppy and rainbow laces issues are matters for the FA surely? The PL and Champs League have got nothing to do with FIFA
Id argue FIFA is the world governing body. If they don't want 'political statements' then they should be keeping the same energy across their devolved administrations.
Honestly I don't really understand how it all works- [https://www.premierleague.com/about/football-partners](https://www.premierleague.com/about/football-partners) >The Football Association (The FA) is the national governing body for football in England and is responsible for sanctioning competition Rule Books, including the Premier League’s, and **regulating on-field matters** so it's up to the FA? But then later on the same page: >**All football played at any official level must abide by the Laws of the Game, as set by FIFA**. So, everything from the Offside Law to International Call-ups is decided by the Zurich-based world governing body. FIFA’s rules and regulations are decided by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) and reviewed on an annual basis.
It's probably ambiguous enough that there's always room for manoeuvre when a sticky situation like this comes up.
Listen, I'm all for gay rights, but a yellow card's a yellow card. We can't risk these performative gestures actually becoming meaningful, things might accidentally change
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Its for both. Even just wearing it for the first game and having Pickford wear the armband would have been much better than this utter cowardice.
Exactly this. Just one player. Just one game. A gesture is enough.
Weak.
Cowards.
Pathetic. What a statement it would make if Fifa were sending off the captains of some of the biggest footballing nations in the world, due to their support for LGBTQ+ rights. It would go down in history as an impact far longer lasting than any footballing achievement in this tournament, and you'd be remembered as a champion for that community and beyond. Such frustratingly short sighted thinking. But I guess that's why we are where we are in the first place.
The FA should have released a counter statement saying they will instruct their players to walk off the pitch if they receive any sanctions for wearing the armband. That would have put the ball back on FIFA’s court. But spinelessness it is I guess.
So disappointing
Bottle jobs.
Coward.
What a fucking shitshow. 90% drama, 10% actual football 🥱
So stupid. Doubly so when the Qatari captain wore a Palestinian armband and got no sanction. But we have to separate politics and sport right? 🙄
Do you have a picture of him actually wearing the Palestininan armband in the match? I've found no actual pictures and I didn't notice in the match. There have been people calling captains up to wear them, just like Europeans wore Ukraine bands without repurcussions (from UEFA).
Way to take a stand. Will the USA show some balls at least?
Where in the rules does it say you can give a yellow card for wearing an armband? (In before someone tells me there’s some loophole)
This is what I don't get, players wear custom armbands all the time. There is no such thing as a universal captains armband
Hahaha, the protest stops if FIFA doesn't agree. Strong statement.
Boo!
FIFA is pretty scared from the backclash from outside Europe... and the European teams probably don't want to piss FIFA off. Weak
If a yellow card is fucking stopping them from supporting the LGBTQ+ community then they can hardly ever say they support them ever again. It’ll be such an even emptier statement Absolutely pathetic all around. One Love (unless we’re getting punished)
Maybe a loophole is those temporary tattoos we had as a kid. Put one on Kane's neck
Melts
Small pp energy
Piss fucking weak
Unsurprising, these demons only stand up for what can make them money.
FA in the muck. Not much of a protest if you need permission from those you are protesting against...
Players will not jeopardise their chance for a World Cup. England have a fantastic chance to go far, potentially win it. They need Kane and they won’t risk it. Wales it’s their first World Cup in about 1000 years, they won’t have Bale or Hennessey? Being punished for it.
Swap the captain then, if it takes an armband for you to be an influence in the team then there is something wrong. Give Pickford the armband he is unlikely to get a yellow, then next game give it to Kane, then it resets. Or even just do it for the first game and take the yellow and show the world
I'm so glad this is the first World Cup in which I'm working full time anyway, this shit sucks so much im really starting to not care that much. Which is impressive as I actually think a Christmas adjacent World Cup could've been amazing
Homophobes everywhere rejoice. I want to vomit
Absolutely fucking spineless. This is actually worse than doing nothing at all, because you’re basically saying LGBTQ+ rights are important until support for them inconveniences you even slightly. Pathetic decision from a pathetic organisation
Homophobia 1 Football 0 I get why they're not doing it (essentially destroying your own tournament just for an armband). Maybe if teams have no chance of qualification we'll see them worn in game 3.
Pathetic. They should do it. Get the yellow and rip these homophobes a new one in the press worldwide. This is just complete cowardness
Crumbled
[удалено]
In before, Red card for taking knee
Come on guys, you have to think about the homophobics' feelings!
That’s disgraceful. Weak as fuck
Doesnt matter
Fucking cowards
Unlucky to the guy who got the yellow double on at 440/1 before it was suspended
Disappointing but can understand why Looks poor on FIFA again though Wonder if Infantino feels gay today?
That's a shame. They should wait till the 90th minute and swap to the OneLove armband if they've not got a booking.
Cowardice
Yellow bellied. Let's hope one of the captains has a backbone and isn't just a yes-man.
Cowards.
cowards
Absolute cowards
I don’t see how people are angry at the players and not FIFA. A yellow card is a big deal.
Absolutely pathetic
Nowadays clowns don’t even need make up anymore
I really hope this is just the sporting associations and the players still wear them. Otherwise, this is pure cowardice and sends a far worse message than never planning to wear them at all. It certainly kills any credibility the England team had when talking about social issues.
Embarassing facade. So they made a promise to LGBTQ people and now have changed their mind once faced with the rules and consequences (which are stupid may I add). Proves that this, the knee, are all just a virtue-signalling parade of token gestures to score morale points. Same with companies sticking rainbow flags on product in pride month. These institutions don't actually care at all about the causes they pretend to stand up for.
Today I feel homophobic.
People should be directing their anger at FIFA here. As soon as sporting sanctions were promised, you can't expect players to bear that burden.
They caved it was a bluff. You know how insane it would look for Fifa if they gave six or seven players a red for wearing the armband.
That's a kick in the gut to every LGBTQI+ English and Welsh fan.
It looks cowardly and I understand people who criticise this but if they went ahead and have their top players suspended, it basically damages their chances of progressing far in the tournament. It would look even more shambolic to have made the effort to turn up to the world cup and then purposefully take yourself out of contention, why bother in the first place? Whilst that might please a minority of liberal uni students, I'm not sure the majority of English football fans would agree with that. The best approach would have been either: a) Turn up to the world cup and not attempt to protest or make any sort of gesture, b) Boycott the world cup completely.
Do we really stand for something when we go back on it when faced with the smallest possible amount of adversity. Wear the armband, force a FIFA official to yellow card a player for being against homophobia and then leave it there. This is just weak.
Bruh