AL RUWAIS (QATAR), 18 Nov. (dpa/EP) –
The president of the German Football Federation (DFB), Bernd Neuendorf, said he was “prepared” for a possible fine if goalkeeper Manuel Neuer wears the captain’s armband claiming the ‘One Love’ movement, with the colors of the rainbow, in the Qatar World Cup.
“Personally, I would be quite willing to accept a fine. It’s not a political statement, but a statement in favor of human rights,” Neuendorf said.
Neuer and other European team captains plan to wear a rainbow One Love movement bracelet at the tournament to support sexual diversity. However, it is not yet clear if FIFA will impose fines for this action.
Neuendorf assured that the action shows the opposition “against racism and anti-Semitism” and “the defense of women’s rights and human rights in general.” In addition, she did not rule out further actions of a sociopolitical nature by the players of the German team during the tournament.
Since winning the World Cup, Qatar has been criticized for human rights conditions in the country and its treatment of the LGBTQ community. Recently, the former Qatari international Khalid Salman, one of the ambassadors of the tournament that begins on Sunday, had described homosexuality as “mental damage” in a documentary broadcast by the German public channel ZDF.
