In addition, during the warm-up exercise, Manuel Neuer was also found wearing a shirt with rainbow sleeves. This was done by the team concocted by Hansi Flick as a form of protest following a threat from FIFA to sanction players if they made political statements during the tournament in Qatar.
Germany is one of seven teams planning to wear the rainbow 'OneLove' armband to express solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, showing that football is for everyone. Through its Twitter account, the German Football Association (DFB) also explained the meaning of the team photo with the mouth-shut gesture by the German national team.
"We want to use our captain's armband to defend the values that we share in the German national team: diversity and mutual respect. Together with other countries, we want our voices to be heard," the DFB wrote.
Previously, FIFA banned the use of the rainbow captain's armband, which is a symbol of LGBTQ+. This is according to a request from Qatar as the host of the 2022 World Cup.
Germany is one of seven countries pushing for the One Love campaign at the 2022 World Cup. The campaign was carried out to support diversity and take sides with LGBT people. The countries that support One Love plan to wear a rainbow-patterned captain's armband at every match in the 2022 World Cup. However, this campaign was rejected by FIFA.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wore the rainbow LGBT armband near FIFA President Gianni Infantino. This moment occurred when he watched Germany vs Japan match at the 2022 World Cup, Wednesday night.
In the match which was held at the Khalifa International Stadium, Qatar, Faeser was seen sitting side by side with Infantino. Faeser was seen wearing a white shirt, with the captain's armband wrapped around his left arm. Later, however, he wore a red suit that covered the armband.
This site is quite interesting. Because FIFA previously criticized the use of LGBT nuanced attributes during the 2022 World Cup. So, on the other hand, Faeser did not agree with FIFA's stance which prohibits LGBT nuanced attributes. He said that the German Football Federation was under pressure.
"This (FIFA's stance) is not good, how can the federation be under pressure," Faeser said in Doha.
"Today it is incomprehensible that FIFA does not want people to support tolerance and fight discrimination openly. It is not suitable for our time, it is not suitable for many people,'' he said.
In line with the German Minister of Internal Affairs' statement, the President of the German Football Federation, Bernd Neuendorf, also criticized FIFA's stance. Moreover, FIFA also threatened sanctions in this case.
