The England national football team have been urged to boycott the World Cup and withdraw their membership from FIFA if they truly care about human and social rights.
It comes after the squad were told captain Harry Kane would receive a yellow card if he wore the OneLove armband, which was designed in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
GB News
Speaking on Dan Wootton Tonight, former Southampton and England footballer Matt Le Tissier said FIFA “has been a lost caused for a long time.
“In terms of FIFA losing it’s integrity I’m not sure it actually had any to lose in the first place.”
Dan Wootton said he was “embarrassed for them” over the incident, telling Gareth Southgate’s team to “stop virtue signalling.
“Just imagine – Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr, you’re going to be threatened with a yellow card! They do not give a damn!”
Former professional footballer Le Tissier, who amassed eight caps for England, agreed with the GB News host.
“It just goes to prove what a lot of people are saying about it. It is pure virtue signalling. They’re not 100% wholeheartedly behind it.
“If you want to make a real statement then you boycott the World Cup. What would make an even better statement is if they boycotted FIFA and rescinded their membership because that organisation is rotten to the core.”
The build-up to the team’s opening World Cup match against Iran was dominated by uncertainty over what the consequences would be if the rainbow-coloured band was worn.
Nick Potts
England manager Gareth Southgate says the failure to secure FIFA approval for Harry Kane to wear the ‘OneLove’ captain’s armband prior to the match against Iran had been a concern to him, and admits there are “lessons to be learned” from the controversy.
The build-up to the team’s opening World Cup match against Iran was dominated by uncertainty over what the consequences would be if the rainbow-coloured band was worn.