FIFA: Denmark Can't Wear Pro-Human Rights Shirts at World Cup

Facts

• The Danish Football Association (DBU) revealed on Thursday that FIFA had rejected their request to train wearing shirts reading the message "Human Rights for All" during the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.
• Qatar has been criticized for its human rights record and its stance on LGBTQ+ rights, as well as its treatment of migrant workers. FIFA prohibits the display of all political messages by players during matches, though the DBU disputes that the message is political despite accepting the decision.
• Jakob Jensen, DBU's CEO, stated: "We are of the opinion that the message Human Rights for All is universal and is not a political call, but it should be something that all people can support."
• The rules for messaging on slogans and shirts are found within Law 4 of the International Football Association Board's Laws of the Game, which states that, "any team equipment (including clothing) must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images."
• The DBU had previously announced that training shirts would display "critical messages," with two sponsors — national lottery Danske Spil and bank Arbejdernes Landsbank — agreeing to have their logos replaced.
• Last week, FIFA sent a letter to all 32 competing nations at the World Cup, requesting that teams "focus on football" and avoid dragging the sport into "every ideological or political battle." Teams including England, France, and Germany intend to wear rainbow colors with the message "One Love" regardless of FIFA's ruling.

Sources: Guardian, BBC News, CNN, Athletic, Daily Mail, and Score.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Yardbarker. This is yet another example of FIFA being overzealous in its judgment. This news reaffirms that the organization is simply refusing to acknowledge the plethora of rights problems that exist in the country they have chosen to host the next World Cup.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Doha. The mostly Western-centric critique of the World Cup is an unfair smear campaign. Ongoing protests only trivialize Qatar's progress, ignoring the fact that it has already disbursed $350M to workers last year alone and has doubled up on efforts to protect employees. European countries must recognize that they do not and should not hold a monopoly over global football.

Predictions