FIFA backs down on rainbow crackdown
![Wales fans cheer during a match against the USA at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Doha on Nov. 21. [EPA/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2022/11/25/7d93aa78-d3f1-4156-9e3f-50f9e0501291.jpg)
Wales fans cheer during a match against the USA at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Doha on Nov. 21. [EPA/YONHAP]
FIFA have backed down on what appeared to be a blanket crackdown on anything that looks remotely like a rainbow, telling the Football Association of Wales on Thursday that fans will not be stopped from entering matches if they are wearing rainbow-colored clothing or carrying flags.
The decision, which is supposed to apply to all matches, comes after the FAW, along with a number of other football associations, challenged FIFA on why fans had been stopped and forced to remove flags and items of clothing before entering stadiums. FIFA has not announced the change directly.
Countless reporters emerged of Wales fans being forced to remove rainbow bucket hats before entering the country's match against the USA on Monday, including footage of former Welsh international and trustee of the Football Association of Welsh Laura McAllister being ordered to take her hat off.
Wales fans were not the only ones to be targeted by the crackdown on anything that resembled a rainbow, with a Brazilian journalist on Tuesday reporting he was stopped by local police for carrying the flag of Brazilian state Pernambuco, which happens to include a rainbow and was misinterpreted as an LGBTQ flag.
The crackdown on rainbow flags had likely been at the request of Qatari authorities. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and carries an immediate prison sentence and, despite promising that the World Cup would be safe and inclusive, FIFA has done little to stop the Qatari authorities from attempting to scrub any hint of support for homosexuality from the tournament.
FIFA also banned the OneLove armbands, worn by captains to promote diversity and inclusivity, saying they broke the association's rules about non-sanctioned equipment and political messaging. The crackdown on rainbow clothing and flags among fans may well have been framed under the same political messaging argument, although in doing so FIFA ironically took a far more political stance than allowing fans their own beliefs.
“We were told this was going to be a really inclusive, welcoming, warm World Cup," FAW chief executive Noel Mooney said on Thursday. "That is not what I have seen, I have to say. To have our fans having their bucket hats taken off them is just appalling. Their voice was taken away, the players’ voices were taken away by the armband. For that we are deeply disappointed.”
According to FAW, FIFA have reassured the association that all World Cup venues have been contacted and told of the change.
BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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