Harry Kane has spoken out after it was confirmed he and Wales captain Gareth Bale won't be wearing the One Love armband at the World Cup.
The star footballer was all set to don the armband that was designed to be a subtle nod to the LGBTQIA+ community while the Three Lions competed on the world stage.
It was pertinent because host country Qatar has been called out for its rules against homosexuality.
An FA statement yesterday (21 November) claimed Kane and Bale were unable to wear the armband after FIFA said it would 'impose sporting sanctions' if they wore the rainbow armbands on the pitch.
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Kane said (via The Guardian): “We’re disappointed. I said yesterday we wanted to wear it.
"That decision was taken out of my hands today.
"I turned up to the stadium with the armband that I wore and I was told I had to wear that [the official FIFA one].
"It’s out of our control as players.
"I’m sure the FA and Fifa will continue those discussions but most importantly today we focused on the game and got a great result.”
If the football captains broke the rules, they could face a fine or even a yellow card for breaching the regulations.
Instead of the One Love armband, he wore FIFA's 'anti-discrimination' armband when England took on Iran for their World Cup opening match.
The Three Lions also took a knee before the match and Kane hopes the team will be able to continue highlighting social issues during the tournament.
“You’ve seen over the last five years we’ve made a stand as a squad and we’ll continue to do that as much as we can," he said.
"We took the knee today as well but sometimes these decisions aren’t up to us and that’s the bottom line"
FIFA’s leadership group had previously asked the 32 World Cup teams to concentrate on football rather than ‘political’ differences.
A letter penned to the nations reads: “We know football does not live in a vacuum, and we are equally aware that there are many challenges and difficulties of a political nature all around the world.
“But please do not allow football to be dragged into every ideological or political battle that exists.”
The issue of LGBTQ+ rights in Qatar is just one of many controversies plaguing the World Cup tournament this year.
Topics: World Cup, LGBTQ, Harry Kane
Stewart Perrie