Germany may have lost to Japan in one of the best matches of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, but before the ball was even kicked the four-time world champions were already a trending topic. In the pre-match team photo, the German squad posed with their hands over their mouths in protest to FIFA not allowing team captain Manuel Neuer to wear the “OneLove” captain’s armband.
Germany was among various national teams that wanted to wear the armband as a way to cause awareness to LGBTQ+ rights in Qatar, a country where homosexuality is illegal. FIFA and the organizers would caution any captain who wore the armband as the armband is not a FIFA assigned approved uniform component.
Eden Hazard after Belgium’s tough win against Canada was asked about the armband and the Real Madrid star was quick to point out that he was at the World Cup to “play football”.
Eden Hazard on the OneLove armband
“Yes, but afterwards (Germany) lost the match. They would have done better not to do it and to win. We are here to play football; I am not here to send a political message” Hazard firmly stated.
Hazard previously stated how difficult it would have been to play on a yellow, “We were banned for a bit… I didn’t want to start the match with a yellow card, it would have been annoying for the rest of the tournament.”