Getty Image
Gianni Infantino, the president of the (allegedly) endlessly corrupt organization known as FIFA, has come out and said that players should “respect” the game and not protest while on the field.
Infantino’s comments come as the 2022 World Cup gears up to host its final between Argentina and France in Qatar, a nation notorious for its abuse of human rights and LGBTQ rights.
“As FIFA we have to take care of everyone. We are a global organization, we do not have to discriminate anyone based on whatever legislation, whatever regime, whatever values, and feelings they have. It’s not about prohibiting or not prohibiting. It’s about respecting regulations; we have regulations which say on the field of play, you play football, and that’s what we did,” Infantino said on Friday.
“Everyone is free to express his views, his opinion, his beliefs, the way he believes, as long as it’s done in a respectful way. “When it comes to the pitch, to the field of play, you need to respect football, you need to respect the field of play, and these regulations are exactly there for this reason. This is nothing new; they are there for this reason to respect and to protect the 211 football teams, not 211 heads of states, regimes, or what have you.” [via ESPN]
At the 2022 World Cup, seven European nations — Germany, England, Wales, Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, and Belgium — were planning the simple gesture of wearing a rainbow captain’s armband to show their solidarity with the LGBTQ community in the face of Qatar’s discrimination against them.
In lieu of the armbands, the German National Team posed for their team photo in their first group game by placing their hands over their mouths as a protest to highlight how they’re being silenced by FIFA.
The final of the 2022 World Cup final between Leo Messi’s Argentina and Kylian Mbappe’s France will take place on Sunday, December 18 at 10 a.m. EST.