All 11 players from the national German team lined up before their game and took the photograph as a sign of protest, against FIFA clampdown on the “One Love” armband
The German Team on Wednesday covered their mouths up for a team photo before their first WorldCup match against Japan. According to a report by the Associated Press, the move came after the FIFA governing body decided to clampdown on the “One Love” armband, during its worldcup in Qatar.
The band which includes a heart shaped multicolored logo was planned to be worn by captains of seven European world cup participating teams, as a sign of protest against Qatar´s human rights record. But just hours before the first game, FIFA warned the players would be immediately shown the yellow card, if they wear it.
The report states, the team captains of all EU teams, including Manuel Neuer, the German captain, had planned to wear the armband. But all teams later backed down after FIFA announced the consequences.
“We may have our bands taken away from us, but we’ll never let our voices be taken from us,” said Neuer, according to the report. He further added, “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.”
Discussing the plan to cover their mouths for the photo, Neuer said the idea for the mouth-covering gesture came from the team. “We really wanted to do something, and we thought about what we could do,” Neuer said. “It was clear that we wanted to send a signal”, he said.
Meanwhile, according to the report, FIFA said Germany will not face disciplinary action for the gesture.
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