FIFA's decision to penalize those players who wear the bracelet with the motto "One Love" continues to give much to talk about. The player of the Belgian national team, Jan Vertonghen, appeared before the debut against Canada and admitted that he did not feel comfortable talking about it. "If I say something I'm afraid of not being on the pitch tomorrow. It's something I've never experienced and I hope it won't happen again. We are being controlled," he declared.
The central defender also expressed his discomfort at not being able to exercise his freedom of expression. "We are here to play football and if we can't do it by saying 'no to racism'… then what?" he commented. However, he preferred to focus on the debut of his national team, which will premiere on Wednesday, November 23 at 8:00 p.m. Spanish time. "I see that the new blood from Belgium has a lot of potential. I hope we perform as well as in 2018. I am confident," he concluded.
The German Football Federation (DFB) for its part, also expressed its discomfort and declared that it felt "blackmailed" by FIFA into renouncing the use of solidarity by its players at the World Cup in Qatar. "We have not knelt before FIFA. We were subjected to extreme blackmail in which we thought we had to make this decision even though we did not want to make it," DFB communication director Steffen Simon told Deutschlandfunk broadcaster.
In addition, the first German public television channel issued a comment saying that it was better for Germany to "lose points and be eliminated in the group stage with the bracelet than to be world champion without the bracelet."
Along the same lines, the player of the German team Joshua Kimmich admitted to being surprised by the decision of the federations to rule out that the footballers wear the 'One Love' bracelet due to possible FIFA sanctions. "I was a bit surprised because I had the feeling that the bracelet was being talked about in a rather irrelevant way. Now I feel like it's a strong signal," he said. "The players are quite reflective and we should attend to complaints," he added.
His coach, Hansi Flick, also lamented the ban on players wearing the 'One Love' armbands and complained that his players are not allowed to set an example in the fight for human rights. "The bracelet is a sign of diversity and the values we stand for and live by. We treat each other with a lot of respect and appreciation, but when it comes to appreciation and respect, some don't see it that way," he said. He also commented that the yellow cards would not have been a problem, but that the teams did not have time to react to FIFA's decision. "I think it's a shame that we can no longer defend human rights," he said.
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States, also joined the list of personalities who charged against FIFA. "It is worrisome when we see restrictions on freedom of expression, especially when it comes to diversity and inclusion," he denounced. The leader of US diplomacy also believed that sport has the power to "unite people" and claimed that "no one on a soccer field should be forced to have to choose between supporting these values or playing with their team."
