FIFA bans Denmark's human rights shirt at Qatar World Cup

Denmark is one of the teams that has shown its opposition to the celebration of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
11 November 2022 Friday 03:32
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FIFA bans Denmark's human rights shirt at Qatar World Cup

Denmark is one of the teams that has shown its opposition to the celebration of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Although it is true that it has not taken drastic measures such as a possible boycott, it is one of the few that has tried, through some gestures, to denounce the lack of human rights in the emirate.

The Danish Football Association (DBU) wanted players to display the slogan "human rights for all" on their training shirts, a decision that has been vetoed by FIFA. The Danish federation reported on Thursday that world soccer's chief governing body had rejected the request to display that phrase, as well as any other messages critical of Qatar.

The DBU had made the decision in 2021 to replace its two sponsors with such protest phrases, but FIFA (which refused to make public statements about it) clings to the regulations that prohibit the wearing of political emblems, statements or images, religious or personal.

"We received a message from FIFA that the training shirts our players were supposed to train in, where it said 'human rights for all' on the stomach (of the shirt), have been rejected for technical reasons, which is unfortunate. We believe that the message 'human rights for all' is universal and not a political claim, but something that everyone can support," DBU executive director Jakob Jensen told the Ritzau news agency.

The Danish team already made headlines at the end of September when they presented their most atypical uniforms for the World Cup. In the three kits, the Hummel brand (one of them black as a sign of mourning) lowered the tonality of its emblem and the stripes on the sleeves of its shirts until it almost disappeared. "We do not want to be visible during a tournament that has cost thousands of people their lives," they denounced in an action that has resulted in a major marketing campaign at the same time.

The Danish federation also decided that it will send a reduced expedition to Qatar and limit promotional activities for the World Cup. The host country has been under intense pressure, accused of exploiting migrants in the construction of the stadiums in very precarious conditions (The Guardian claimed last year that 6,500 migrant workers had lost their lives), something that the emirate denies.

FIFA sent a letter last week to the 32 federations present in Qatar urging them to focus on football and avoid politicizing the event. Amnesty International reacted immediately by calling on President Gianni Infantino to "address human rights problems" related to abuses against migrant workers "instead of sweeping them under the rug".

Denmark debut on November 22 against Tunisia. The other two commitments will be against the current champion France -whom they defeated in the last Nations League- and against Australia.