Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka said Wednesday his side did not have to copy Germany’s mouth-covering protest against FIFA’s stance on rainbow-themed armbands.

Germany lined up for their team photo before a shock 2-1 defeat to Japan, making the gesture after they abandoned plans for skipper Manuel Neuer to wear the “OneLove” armband following threats of on-field disciplinary action by FIFA.

“I don’t think we need to do anything as the Swiss team. We need to respect the rules and concentrate on our football, that’s all I intend to do,” captain Xhaka told reporters ahead of his team’s Group G opener against Cameroon on Thursday.

More details here. 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.