'Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice'
The Germany players covered their mouths as they posed for their team photo before their opening World Cup game against Japan, in an apparent protest against FIFA.
The protest was against FIFA's ruling on the One Love armbands that the captains of several national sides competing at the World Cup - including Germany, England and Wales - had planned to wear at the tournament, to promote diversity and inclusion.
But they were forced to
abandon these plans in their games on Monday when FIFA revealed that any players wearing the armbands would receive an automatic yellow card.
In an apparent protest against this decision, all of the Germany players covered their mouths in the team photo for their Group E opener against Japan at the the Khalifa International Stadium on Wednesday.
In a statement following the gesture, the German FA, the DFB, tweeted: It wasn’t about making a political statement – human rights are non-negotiable.
"That should be taken for granted, but it still isn’t the case. That’s why this message is so important to us.
"Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice. We stand by our position."
https://twitter.com/DFB_Team_EN/status/1595405792957562880?s=20&t=fwAng-O9howQ9EQijB7K7A
https://twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/1595403498694115328
https://twitter.com/Football__Tweet/status/1595403336307589122
The DFB has been very vocal in its criticism of FIFA's decision to ban the One Love armbands.
On Tuesday, it was reported that they were
exploring possible legal action against FIFA for its decision.
Germany are refusing to accept the decision, with Bild reporting the DFB could take the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
They claimed that nations planning to wear the armbands were
threatened with "extreme blackmail" and "massive sanctions."
Ahead of the country's World Cup opener with Japan on Wednesday,
spokesman Steffen Simon told the outlet that the DFB are checking whether FIFA had legal grounds to impose the ban.
"FIFA has banned us from showing a symbol of diversity and human rights. They combined this ban with massive threats of sporting sanctions without specifying them. The DFB is checking whether this action by FIFA was legal."
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