Mueez Ajao
– Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk has hit back at criticism accusing European teams at the World Cup of having no “backbone” after they decided against wearing the OneLove armband.
– The captains of seven countries, including England and Wales, planned to wear the armband during matches to promote diversity and inclusion.
– But the plans were dropped because of Fifa’s threat of players being booked.
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– The captains are instead wearing Fifa-approved ‘No Discrimination’ armbands.
– “I play in a position where a yellow card is not useful. I became a football player and I want to play these kind of tournaments,” Van Dijk told Dutch broadcaster NOS.
– Speaking after the Netherlands’ 2-0 win over Senegal on Monday, the Liverpool centre-back said: “There are people who say we don’t have a backbone, but that’s not how it works.
– “We just want to play football. I would have loved to play with that band, but not at the expense of a yellow card.”
– The Netherlands began the OneLove campaign before Euro 2020 to promote diversity and inclusion, and as a message against discrimination.
– Same-sex relationships and the promotion of same-sex relationships are criminalised in Qatar.
– In a statement on Monday, the seven European nations – also including Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland – said they were willing to pay fines for their captains wearing the armband but could not put their players at risk of being booked.
– Speaking after the 6-2 opening win over Iran, England skipper Harry Kane said he was “disappointed” about not being able to wear the armband, while team-mate Jack Grealish said the decision was “a bit stupid”.
