The coach of the French team Didier Deschamps estimated Thursday that the national teams had been “abandoned before the World Cup” in Qatar by the “instances” on the wearing of the rainbow armband, which selections had considered before giving it up. “We were abandoned before this World Cup because the responsibility belongs to the authorities, and therefore it was the free decision of each person” to express themselves on the subject, declared Didier Deschamps before the commission of the National Assembly dedicated to “operational failures within sports federations”.
“If there is collective and general action, it’s better”
“The decision to hold the World Cup in Qatar was taken before I was coach or Noël Le Graët” was president of the French Football Federation (FFF) – the latter has since resigned in February – said the coach of the Blues. “The weeks before (the World Cup), non-sporting subjects come up and we ask the actors to take a position, having different sensitivities depending on the country and culture,” he added.
“We are on the decisions of Fifa, there are specifications, you must follow the recommendations of Fifa”, underlined Didier Deschamps to justify that the French team – like all its competitors – did not wear the armband dedicated to the fight against homophobia. “If there is collective and general action, that’s better,” he said, before explaining “already having enough things to (take) care of internally” on a sporting level. Homosexuality, like sexual relations outside marriage, are criminalized in Qatar, which has drawn strong criticism from the Qatari authorities and Fifa.
Eight Western European federations had for a time considered having their captain wear a rainbow “One Love” armband, but they ultimately gave up, citing threats of sporting sanctions from Fifa. During the official photo before their first match, against Japan on November 23, the German players put their hands over their mouths, in a universal gag gesture, to indicate their indignation at what they considered to be an attack. to their freedom of expression.
An attitude strongly criticized in Qatar and in non-Western countries, under the accusation of mixing sport and politics. The president of the French Football Federation, Noël Le Graët, expressed his opposition to the “One Love” armband.