The World Cup jersey of the Danish national football team is criticism of the organizer.
The Danes should not only wear black when warming up at the World Cup.
The Danish national team will wear black at the football World Cup in Qatar in November. As a symbol of mourning. Kit supplier Hummel said in an Instagram post: “While we do our best to support the Danish national team, this should not be confused with supporting a tournament that has claimed the lives of thousands of people.” The black jersey is intended to make a statement about the human rights situation in Qatar and the treatment of the migrant workers who built the World Cup stadiums.
The black jersey will probably rarely, if ever, be used at the World Cup – it’s just the third jersey: the replacement for the replacement. But the outfitter has also found a way to get its message across on the other two jerseys in red and white.
The symbols of the outfitter and the association are printed on each, but they do not stand out in color from the shirts. “We don’t want to be visible during a tournament that has claimed the lives of thousands of people. We believe that sport should bring people together. And if that’s not the case, we want to set an example,” it said in a statement.
Anger in Qatar
In the statement, the Danes refer to a report by Amnesty International from last year. It said that 15,021 foreigners of all ages had died in Qatar between 2010 and 2019 – but the causes of these deaths had not been adequately investigated.
In Qatar, the anger about the jersey of the Danes is great. In a media release, the organizers deny that thousands of people died during the construction of the World Cup stadiums and refer to the “improved living conditions” for workers in Qatar.
The outfitter Hummel attaches great importance to political correctness. In 2020, Hummel was voted the most sustainable clothing brand by Danes. So a statement against working conditions in Qatar makes sense – but there are inconsistencies. Have so Research by the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” revealed that Hummel supported Qatari clubs at least until 2018. Even then, the situation of migrant workers in the country was known. Hummel has not commented on previous engagements in Qatar.
Comply with FIFA rules
The Danes have cleverly meandered around Fifa rules with the design of the kit. Because they actually prohibit political statements at football games. However, the associations do not take the rule exactly. For example, the Swiss national team got through with a political statement in 1995 – without being sanctioned.
At that time, the Swiss team played under national coach Roy Hodgson in Sweden to qualify for the 1996 European Championships in England. When the national anthem was played, the players unrolled a cloth that read: “Stop Chirac”. It was a protest against France’s nuclear tests in the South Pacific.
Ultimately, Uefa refrained from punishment, but pointed out to the member associations that political actions on the pitch would be punished in future.
Remembering the double-headed eagle affair
In 2018, three Swiss again caused red heads with a gesture at the Fifa Disciplinary Chamber. Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri and Stephan Lichtsteiner formed a double-headed eagle with their hands while celebrating a goal in the World Cup match against Serbia. This is considered a symbol of the Albanians in the Balkans – and was a provocation to the Serbian public.
Xhaka and Shaqiri, both with Kosovan roots, were fined CHF 10,000, Lichtsteiner with CHF 5,000. The players were not blocked. At the time, Fifa decided that the double-headed eagle was not a political gesture, but unsportsmanlike behavior. In doing so, Fifa avoided setting a precedent and saved itself the task of constantly having to examine goal celebrations for political correctness in the future.