Germany’s football association (DFB) said Tuesday it was examining if FIFA’s threat to impose disciplinary action against players who wear the “OneLove” armband at the World Cup tournament is legal.
The armbands had been viewed as a symbolic protest against laws in World Cup host Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal.
Captains of several European teams had planned to wear the rainbow-themed armband as part of a campaign for diversity during the tournament hosted by Qatar, but they have backed down over the threat of FIFA disciplinary action.
“FIFA banned us from showing a sign for diversity and human rights. They combined this with massive threats of sports sanctions without specifying what these would be,” DFB spokesman Steffen Simon told AFP’s sports subsidiary SID.
“The DFB is checking if this action by FIFA is legal,” he added.