Harry Kane said he was disappointed after the threat of sporting sanctions from Fifa stopped the striker from wearing the “OneLove” rainbow armband during England’s 6-2 win against Iran.
Fears that captains could receive an instant booking for wearing the armband prompted the move, and LGBTQ+ groups reacted with fury at authorities preventing teams from promoting diversity during an increasingly farcical World Cup.
Seven European nations scrapped plans to continue with the “OneLove” campaign after hours of uncertainty and Kane was instead ordered to wear Fifa’s “anti-discrimination” armband when Gareth Southgate’s side opened their campaign in Qatar by thrashing Iran.
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“We’re disappointed,” Kane said. “I said yesterday we wanted to wear it. That decision was taken out of my hands today. I turned up to the stadium with the armband that I wore and I was told I had to wear that [the official Fifa one]. It’s out of our control as players. I’m sure the FA and Fifa will continue those discussions but most importantly today we focused on the game and got a great result.”
Kane said England, who took the knee before facing Iran, will continue to do their best to speak out against injustice. “You’ve seen over the last five years we’ve made a stand as a squad and we’ll continue to do that as much as we can. We took the knee today as well but sometimes these decisions aren’t up to us and that’s the bottom line.”
Southgate refused to condemn Fifa’s behaviour and said teams should be allowed to focus on their performances. “The armband, it’s not something myself or the players have been involved in over the last 24 hours,” England’s head coach said.
“These discussions have been ongoing between several European nations and Fifa.
“I actually do understand Fifa’s situation, in that you can set a precedent and then it’s very difficult where you draw the line. So I think in an ideal world that would have been a much clearer situation earlier but it’s not something that’s been a distraction.
“We said yesterday we need to focus on the football. People know this group of players are taking the knee because it’s something we feel we can make a difference with. There are some things I’m not sure we are going to be able to make a difference with and therefore we should channel our energies in the right direction.
“I think every coach now deserves the right to be able to focus on the football. We understand there are issues that people want us to speak about. We’ve done that for the last 12 months. But this is a World Cup. We won’t refuse to answer any questions. But the predominant part of our energy has to be on preparing the team. There are other people at our federation who have to deal with those issues because it’s not the responsibility of the players. They didn’t decide where we are.”, while Iranian fans booed it in response to the brutal actions of their country’s regime. Carlos Queiroz told protesting fans to stay away from games.
“The fans who do not want to support the team should stay at home,” Iran’s manager said. “We don’t need the fans who don’t support the team. Stay at home. The Iranians are welcome but those that come to disturb the team with issues not just about football are not welcome.”
