PRESS RELEASE : Welsh Conservative comment on FIFA OneLove armband decision [November 2022]

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 21 November 2022.

Wales, England and other European nations will not wear the OneLove armband at the World Cup in Qatar because of the threat of players being booked.

The Welsh captain, Gareth Bale, had planned to wear the armband during matches to promote diversity and inclusion.

Commenting on the news, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Sport, Tom Giffard MS said:

“The Welsh Football Association, among others, wrote to FIFA in September alerting them to the decision of players to wear the OneLove armband, to no response.

“The sudden change in decision here is clearly a sign of direct interference from FIFA as a result of reservations by the Qatari authorities.

“We back the Welsh FA’s decision to not instruct Gareth Bale to wear the armband, as subjecting him to a booking would be unfair to the team and to him. This difficult decision has in fact highlighted the issue, bringing it to the forefront of World Cup coverage, perhaps even more than simply wearing the armband could have.”