Ahead of the game, German players protested in their team photo.
England, Wales and five other European nations confirmed their players would not wear the #OneLove armbands at the World Cup, saying the football governing body had made it clear their captains could be booked or forced to leave the pitch if they did so.
The move was criticised by LGBTQ+ groups, with mixed reaction as to who was to blame.
Stonewall, the LGBTQ+ charity, said on Twitter: “By threatening sporting sanctions & stopping players from wearing #OneLove armbands, Fifa are brushing criticism of human rights abuses under the carpet.
“LGBTQ+ people are criminalised in Qatar just for being themselves. No country which abuses the human rights of its people in this way should have been awarded with the honour of hosting a major sporting tournament in the first place.
“We appreciate all the @England and @Cymru players’ efforts to draw attention to the appalling human rights abuses of LGBTQ+ people in Qatar, and we urge them to continue to speak out in Qatar as best and safely as they can.”
Now, as a result of not being able to wear the armband, German players covered their mouths in their team photo ahead of Japan:
The Germany team covered their mouths in their team photo ahead of the opening World Cup match against Japan in protest against FIFA’s ban of the ‘OneLove’ armband.#FIFAWorldCup | #GER https://t.co/AcAOuXUIBg
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) November 23, 2022
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