Germany not letting this lie, one of their ministers was at the match wearing the OneLove armband. They've released a twitter...
Saw the picture of their minister sat next to Infantino wearing the OneLove armband. Brilliant. That covering your mouth gesture is great as well. Vertonghen said the players were being silenced. Could easily become the image of the world cup this going forward. FIFA have painted themselves into a corner here.
I think it's helped galvanise their team, leading 1-0 in a slow game, I'm not seeing anything to worry about here
The teams all qualified under certain rules and arrived to play by those rules ... ... imo they should've said they wouldn't accept new rules or yellow cards for non-footballing 'offences'. If Bale refused to leave the pitch what would they do?
My understanding is it is not a new rule. Bullingham said it was a very specific interpretation of existing rules that had never been mooted at all in the past. My reading is all 7 FAs have been completely shocked by FIFAs stance, which is contrary to anything since 2020 when these armbands were first introduced. Now there has been some time to think, legal people to pick over FIFA ruling, and really think everything through, nations are pushing back hard. Interesting to see where CAS are on this.
And specifically, if Bale has refused to leave the rule is match is abandoned. In that circumstance Wales would forfeit thr game I believe.
If enough of them go at once this could be it. Need someone outside of Europe though - I'd be talking to Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and the US at a minimum.
If England believes we should leave FIFA, we should leave FIFA Imo. Having to have someone else hold your hand, before you dare speak, reminds me of school. After the cringeworthy performance from Infantino we should announce now, while he's in his own self created spotlight, that FIFA is no longer fit for purpose and can't be allowed to mismanage such a wonderful game. If the FA don't act they're no better than FIFA or tea towel wearing Mags ... ... as they say, 'The only thing necessary for evil to triumph in the world is that good men do nothing.' It remains to be seen if there are any good men in the FA.
We need a group of big countries who can play each other for a few years if necessary. It's got nothing to do with hand-holding.
Europe alone would be enough I think. Mind you I cant imagine all of europe would agree on anything. Even the open talk of leaving FIFA, during the world cup, is a difficult thing for Infantino to deal with. Has he even spoken since his last charade?
I agree. We need to clearly demonstrate that we don't just have our noses in the trough ... ... FIFA is poison and we should have the balls to just say so.
I can see all the Nordic associations, and the major European associations leaving. Also, Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada.. But as has been said, To make this work, some Central and South American associations need to join... Nice thought, hope it happens. Something needs too for sure.