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Germany players cover mouths in protest for World Cup photo

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="The starting XI of Germany cover their mouths as they pose for a team photo before their match with Japan in Doha, Qatar on November 23, 2022. Ronald Wittek, EPA-EFE" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/sports/11/23/20221123-germany.jpg"/><figcaption>The starting XI of Germany cover their mouths as they pose for a team photo before their match with Japan in Doha, Qatar on November 23, 2022. Ronald Wittek, EPA-EFE</figcaption></figure></div>Germany&#x27;s players covered their mouths for the team photo before their World Cup opener against Japan on Wednesday in protest at FIFA&#x27;s refusal to allow rainbow-themed armbands.Captains of seven European teams had planned to wear the anti-discrimination armbands during the tournament in Qatar as part of a campaign for diversity, but backed down over the threat of disciplinary action from football&#x27;s governing body, including yellow cards.The rainbow armbands had been viewed as a symbolic protest against laws in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal.Germany&#x27;s football federation said in a tweet moments after the photo protest that &quot;human rights are not negotiable&quot;.&quot;This is not a political position; human rights are not negotiable,&quot; the DFB tweeted.&quot;To ban the armband is like banning our right to speak,&quot; the federation added.FIFA president Gianni Infantino was at the Khalifa International Stadium for the Germany-Japan match.The German government spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, said earlier in the day in Berlin that FIFA&#x27;s decision to bar captains from wearing the &quot;OneLove&quot; armbands was &quot;very unfortunate&quot;.&quot;The rights of LGBTQ people are non-negotiable,&quot; Hebestreit said at a regular press conference.German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who was to attend the game in Doha against Japan, said FIFA&#x27;s ban was a &quot;huge mistake&quot;.Not only players, but fans should also be allowed to show pro-LGBTQ symbols &quot;openly&quot;, she told reporters in Qatar.Security staff at the World Cup have ordered spectators to remove items of clothing featuring rainbow logos.Supporters should however &quot;make a decision for themselves&quot; about whether they wanted to wear the symbols, Faeser said.Underlining tensions at the tournament over the issue, Belgium&#x27;s Jan Vertonghen said on Tuesday in Qatar that he was &quot;afraid&quot; to talk about human rights.Vertonghen, speaking on the eve of Belgium&#x27;s opening game against Canada later Wednesday, said he did not feel comfortable.&quot;I&#x27;m afraid if I say something about this I might not be able to play tomorrow,&quot; the defender said.&quot;It&#x27;s an experience I&#x27;ve never felt in football before. I feel controlled. I&#x27;m afraid to even say something about this. &quot;We&#x27;re just saying normal things about racism and discrimination and if you can&#x27;t even say things about it, that says it all.&quot;I want to appear on the pitch tomorrow, so I&#x27;ll leave it at that.&quot;

Germany's football federation said in a tweet moments after the photo protest that 'human rights are not negotiable'.