DOHA, Qatar — Seven European teams have scrapped plans to wear rainbow-colored anti-discrimination captains' armbands at the 2022 World Cup after FIFA threatened them with “sporting sanctions,” the teams said in a joint statement Monday.
England, Wales and others had said months ago, and as recently as Sunday, that their captains would wear the “One Love” armbands, which are part of a broader campaign originally launched by the Dutch soccer federation (KNBV) against discrimination. “The colors in the heart of the logo represent everyone's pride in their own origin, color, gender identity and sexual orientation,” the KNBV said in September.