Virgil van Dijk will not wear the OneLove captain’s armband on Monday during the World Cup match with Senegal. FIFA has informed the KNVB that wearing that band will result in a yellow card. In a statement, the Dutch Football Association says that it will therefore refrain from wearing the much-discussed band.
European countries were eager to make a political statement and were planning to do so through a OneLove captaincy. However, FIFA has decided to intervene. The world football association also came up with a special captain’s armband at the last minute and has informed the KNVB that there are ‘sporting sanctions’ for wearing the OneLove armband.
That could mean that captain Van Dijk has to start the game with yellow in his pocket. The KNVB indicates that this goes against the goal of becoming world champion. “We stand for the OneLove message and will continue to spread it, but our first priority at the World Cup is winning the games. Then you don’t want the captain to start the game with a yellow card. We regret that it didn’t work out together to arrive at a reasonable solution.
The Dutch federation also says that the relationship with FIFA will come under pressure as a result. A fine would be accepted by the KNVB, but the world football association ‘goes a step further’. “The fact that FIFA wants to punish us on the field for this has never been seen before. This goes against the spirit of our sport, which connects millions of people. In the coming period, we will take a critical look at our relationship with FIFA together with the other countries involved.”
Earlier, captain Van Dijk already announced that he would not wear the band if there was a sporting penalty. “I don’t like playing with a yellow card in my pocket, especially if we can prevent it. I haven’t heard anything yet and if I hear anything, we will discuss it internally.” The the Dutch and Senegal kick off on Monday at 5 p.m. The first game in group A was already played on Sunday evening. Ecuador won 2-0 against Qatar.
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