World Cup faces another chaos as Harry Kane could face bookings and bans for ‘OneLove’ rainbow armband
Last night, it was revealed that England’s captain Harry Kane could face a booking and potential suspension if he continues to wear the OneLove rainbow armband in solidarity with the LGBT+ community.
The tournament’s opening ceremony devolved into a farce on Sunday evening, following a series of controversies in recent days, including a last-minute alcohol ban, a largely empty stadium for the opening ceremony, and thousands of people squeezing into FIFA fan zones.
Kane is determined to wear the rainbow armband in today’s first round match in the Middle Eastern country where homosexuality is still illegal.
However, FIFA has strict rules regarding player attire, and the armband is not permitted under the code.
Unless FIFA intervenes today, England’s talismanic striker could receive an immediate yellow card if he walks out wearing the ‘OneLove’ armband in their opening match against Iran. If he wears it again in their second game, he will be given another yellow card, effectively disqualifying him from the third game.
As the standoff continued last night, there were crisis talks, but England’s Football Association remained steadfast in taking a moral stance on wearing the rainbow armband, which is intended to signal respect for gay rights and equality in general.
The latest squabble comes after the competition was officially opened by Morgan Freeman in a spectacular opening ceremony on Sunday.
The actor, 85, who apologised four years ago following sexual harassment allegations, raised eyebrows as he narrated a spine-chilling segment titled The Calling, telling hundreds of millions of people watching around the world: ‘We all gather here in one big tribe.’
There was bad news for the host nation when the action on the pitch finally began, two seconds early because the referee did not wait for the stadium countdown to end.
The home team lost 0-2 to Ecuador, whose fans mocked Qatar’s alcohol ban by chanting ‘queremos cerveza,’ or ‘we want beer,’ in front of the Gulf state’s royals and David Beckham. Beckham, who has been chastised for his role as a paid ambassador for the Qatar World Cup, sat in the VIP section.
World Cup faces another chaos as Harry Kane could face bookings and bans for ‘OneLove’ rainbow armband
