With less than two hours before England enter the fray, the behavior that Harry Kane will adopt is in all discussions here in Qatar. Will he wear the multicolored “One Love” armband, at the risk of receiving a yellow card, a threat brandished by Fifa?
In the meantime, Hugo Lloris has made his choice. The captain and goalkeeper of the France team will not participate in the slingshot. “Fifa organizes the competition, defines a framework, rules. And we players, what we are asked to do is play football and represent our countries as well as possible, he said. I prefer to stay within my framework, that of player and competitor. But indeed, there are different causes which are laudable, which must be supported. Afterwards, as I said, Fifa decides on the organization. »
European teams are also giving up
More than supported in his position by Noël Le Graët, Lloris appeared in front of the press this Monday noon as part of the traditional pre-match conference. As a reminder, the France team launches its World Cup on Tuesday (8 p.m. in France) against Australia. The Tottenham goalkeeper recalled that he would comply with FIFA guidelines, based on the establishment of one armband per day and per cause (ecology, education, child protection, discrimination, etc.).
Hugo Lloris had supported in September the initiative carried by nine other European federations. During the last rally, he had indeed worn the armband in support of LGBT people.
By then, other European teams involved in the One Love campaign will have played: England, the Netherlands and Wales. But if the idea of wearing the armband was still alive, the European teams finally gave up. “We cannot put our captains in a situation where they would risk a sporting sanction such as a yellow card,” they wrote in a joint statement. […] We were prepared to pay fines. We are very frustrated with FIFA’s unprecedented decision. »