The Germany team played their first match in the World Cup last week and before the match they lined up for their team photo. All 11 players covered their mouths for the photo.
Ask children, why did they do that?
Germany coach explained, "It was a sign from the team, from us, that Fifa is muzzling us."
What does he mean by this?
Team captains, including Harry Kane (England) and Gareth Bales (Wales) were planning on wearing "One Love" arm bands for their game to support LGBTQ+ equality. Last Sunday, the day before the first match, Fifa announced teams were expected to wear an alternative armband, with the words, "Football unites the world". There were no rainbow colours on this official Fifa arm band.
Why do you think FIFA came up with their own armband?
At the time the FA in England and Wales released a statement; "We respect FIFA's request but we are committed to wearing our "One Love" armbands in this World Cup." but no teams wore the One Love armband last week.
Why do you think teams changed their mind?
Hours before the England v Netherlands match on Monday, FIFA warned both teams that if their captains wore the One Love armband, players would be immediately shown a yellow card and could face further consequences.
Germany Captain Manuel Neuer said; "We may have our bands taken away from us, but we'll never let our voices be taken from us. We stand for human rights. That's what we wanted to show. We may have been silenced by FIFA regarding the captain's armbands, but we always stand for our values." He said the idea to cover their mouths came from the team; "We really wanted to do something and we thought about what we could do. It was clear that we wanted to send a signal."
During the match, German interior minister, Nancy Faeser, wore a One Love armband while sitting in the stands next to FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Nancy wore a pink blazer at first which she then took off during the first half.
Later, Belgium Foreign Minister, Hadja Lahbib wore a One Love armband when she met the FIFA president at the Belgium match. She later posted a photo of herself wearing the armband in the stands.
Meanwhile, the Welsh team put up rainbow flags at their training ground in Qatar and during the BBC coverage, journalist Alex Scott wore a One Love armband.
- Why did FIFA ban the One Loive arm bands?
- Why did the football teams choose to follow the ban? Did they have a choice?
- FIFA write to all 32 competing teams in November, telling them to "focus on the football". What do they mean by this and what do you think? Are they right?
- There is an argument that while visiting a country, you should respect the laws of that country and as LGBT+ equality is not allowed in Qatar, people should accept this and not talk about it. What do you think?
- What do you think of Germany's decision to cover their mouths - what were their aims, did they achieve them?
- Why do you think Nancy Faeser wore a One Love armband next to the FIFA president? Why did she wear a blazer first?
- What would you do if you were the England or Wales captain? What are the arguments for and against defying the ban on wearing the armband.
- What is the message to LGBTQ+ footballers and fans if teams don't question the ban?
- What can we learn from Germany?
- Why is this about No Outsiders?
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