On Monday, Sam Kerr, the captain of the Australian women’s national team, announced that she would not be wearing a “OneLove” rainbow armband at the upcoming Women’s World Cup.
Kerr explained that she did not want to jeopardize everything by taking a stand.
FIFA recently revealed eight different armbands that teams can wear at the tournament to raise awareness for social causes.
However, a rainbow-colored “OneLove” band in support of LGBTQ rights was not included in the options.
“We kind of expected it, the men’s World Cup, the women’s World Cup … being honest I didn’t expect them to change it (the rule),” Kerr, a long-time advocate of LGBTQ rights, said as Australia announced its 23-strong squad.
During the men’s World Cup last year, captains from various European countries, such as England and Germany, had planned to wear the “OneLove” armband as a symbolic protest against Qatar’s laws criminalizing homosexuality.
Unfortunately, they were threatened with sporting sanctions, including the possibility of receiving yellow cards, just days before the tournament commenced. As a result, they decided to abandon the idea.
“Obviously we would love to wear it — like most of the teams in the whole world, everyone has voiced that they would love to wear it,” Kerr said.
“But I think you saw with the men’s World Cup, (England captain) Harry Kane for example, first game if he had worn it, yellow card, if he’d got a yellow card again, he would’ve been sent off.
“So for me it’s not worth the risk of putting the team at risk, of putting the tournament at risk, putting everything at risk. There will be multiple opportunities where I get to use my voice for things.
“We have to abide by the rules that we’re given really,” she said.
Players can instead wear an amended version that is similar to “OneLove”, with the words “Unite for Inclusion” alongside a heart shape in rainbow colours.
Other causes highlighted include gender equality, ending violence against women, hunger and the rights of indigenous people.
Captains will be able to wear a different armband for each match corresponding to the cause being promoted or support one cause for the entire tournament.