The football governing body FIFA has asked the competition organizers for using 'common sense' with the players who are displaying messages of protest due to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who got killed in police custody in the US.
The regulations of FIFA do not allow players to display any 'political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images' on their kit. From 2014, the ban also included the undershirts.
However, several players protested during matches in Germany's Bundesliga at the weekend, with Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho and Achraf Hakimi displaying undershirts with the message, "Justice for George Floyd" on Sunday.
FIFA Not Happy With Players Displaying Messages Regarding George Floyd
Schalke 04 defender Weston McKennie displayed the same message on his armband in another game while Borussia Moenchengladbach's Marcus Thuram knelt to honor Floyd after scoring against Union Berlin. The German Football Association has said it was reviewing the incidents where the message was shown.
In a statement on Tuesday, FIFA said it "fully understands the depth of sentiment and concerns expressed by many footballers in light of the tragic circumstances of the George Floyd case". It added that applying the laws of the game was the responsibility of competition organisers, such as domestic leagues, who FIFA said "should use common sense and have in consideration the context surrounding the events".
"FIFA had repeatedly expressed itself to be resolutely against racism and discrimination of any kind and recently strengthened its own disciplinary rules with a view to helping to eradicate such behaviors," it added in the statement. "FIFA itself has promoted many anti-racism campaigns which frequently carry the anti-racism message at matches organised under its own auspices."
(With agency inputs)
