World Cup 2022: Fifa rejects Denmark request to wear shirts with human rights message
- International governing body urges teams to focus on football in Qatar and not let the sport be dragged into ideological or political issues
- Danish football chief Jakob Jensen says team barred from wearing the slogan ‘human rights for all’ on training kits because of ‘technical reasons’
The Danish Football Association (DBU) said Fifa had rejected Denmark’s request to train at the World Cup in shirts with the words “human rights for all” on them.
The DBU said in 2021 their two training kit sponsors would make way for messages critical of Qatar while also minimising the number of trips to the country to avoid commercial activities promoting the World Cup hosts’ events.
Qatar has come under intense pressure over its treatment of foreign workers and restrictive social laws, leading many participating teams to raise concerns. The country has denied claims that workers were exploited.
“We have today got a message from Fifa that the training shirts our players were to train in, where it would say ‘human rights for all’ at the stomach [of the shirt], have been rejected due to technical reasons, which is regrettable,” DBU chief executive Jakob Jensen said.
Fifa declined to comment. Its rules stipulate that any team equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images.