FRANKFURT: The OneLove captain’s armband dispute may be taken to sport’s supreme court by the German DFB in a complaint against world football federation FIFA.
On Monday seven European FAs dropped plans for their captains to wear the anti-discriminatory armband after being warned by FIFA that the players concerned would be shown a yellow card for breaking playing kit regulations.
DFB media director Steffen Simon said: “FIFA has banned us from using a symbol for diversity and human rights. It combined this with massive threats of sporting sanctions without specifying them. The DFB wants to check whether this action by FIFA was lawful.”
Media reports in Germany claim that the DFB is considering seeking a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Simon complained to a radio station on Tuesday that FIFA’s action was one of “extreme blackmail”. He said it was not known whether captains would have received a yellow card but a points deduction was “theoretically” possible.
He added: “That’s part of FIFA’s game – always leaving the associations guessing.”
The DFB has distanced itself from FIFA since Bernd Neuendorf took over as president early this year. Last week he said it would not vote for FIFA president Gianni Infantino when he stands for re-election next year.
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