Alex Scott, who is part of the BBC’s World Cup punditry line-up for the Qatar World Cup, has been seen donning the OneLove armband in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland were all set to wear the armband in support of the LGBTQ community, but FIFA have confirmed they would impose sanctions on individual players, not just kit breaches as previously thought.
Homosexuality remains illegal in Qatar, and discriminatory attitudes towards marginalised people have been a major concern heading into this year’s tournament.
Alex Scott has stood firm in support however during BBC’s live broadcast, deciding to wear the message of support on her arm which promotes inclusivity and diversity.
Alex Scott wears the #OneLove armband while reporting pitchside ahead of England's World Cup opener. pic.twitter.com/8vM01Lx6LN
— Mail Sport (@MailSport) November 21, 2022
In a joint statement released by the FA’s of each nation who were set to wear the armband, it read: “Fifa has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play.
“We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband.
“However, we cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked, or even forced to leave the field of play.”
Despite this, FIFA has brought forward their “No Discrimination” campaign, which was originally slated to begin once the quarter-finals were underway. Captains will now be permitted to wear a No Discrimination armband beginning in the group stage.
England begin their World Cup campaign this afternoon against Iran, and Harry Kane will likely wear FIFA’s “No Discrimination” armband instead of the OneLove one the FA were intent on wearing.
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