Danish FA clarifies comments it is planning to leave FIFA and seeking legal action with England
The Danish Football Association (DBU) has issued a statement following reports it was planning to leave FIFA amid the ongoing controversy about the decision to ban players from wearing the OneLove armbands.
Prior to the World Cup kicking off this year, numerous European countries had pledged to wear a OneLove armband to show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.
However, just hours before England’s first game it was announced that FIFA had pulled the plug on the plans - threatening players who wore the armbands with harsh sanctions.
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On Wednesday, 23 November, it was reported that Danish football federation chief executive Jakob Jensen was in talks with the participating nations about taking legal action against FIFA.
However, now the DBU head of communications has said the whole thing has been a misunderstanding’.
The DBU’s Jakob Hoejer told Reuters: "Some media have made the misunderstanding that DBU will withdraw from FIFA.
"That was not said at the press conference. We're critical and not satisfied and we'll not vote for the present FIFA-president (Gianni Infantino). We will discuss further actions with our Nordic and European colleagues."
During a press conference on Wednesday, the Danish FA said FIFA had threatened sanctions including yellow cards ‘at a minimum’ for those who chose to wear the armbands.
In response, the seven European nations that had planned to wear it - Denmark, England, Wales, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Netherlands - decided against it.
Jensen said on Wednesday: "Now we’re looking into what are the legal options, we are co-ordinating our discussions on that as well but at this point it is not possible to go to CAS [Court of Arbitration for Sports].
"You can’t go through CAS now and I think this is some rumour running around the press.
"The Germans are looking into the legal possibilities. It’s very different than going through CAS.
"If you want to go through CAS you need to complain within the FIFA system first, you need to go to the appeals body, then you can go through CAS."
Beyond this, Jensen said the Danes have also been thinking about leaving FIFA all together.
"It is not a decision that has been made now. We have been clear about this for a long time. We have been discussing it in the Nordic region since August," he said.
“I’ve thought it again. I imagine that there may be challenges if Denmark leaves on its own. But let us see if we cannot have a dialogue on things.
“I have to think about the question of how to restore confidence in FIFA. We must evaluate what has happened, and then we must create a strategy – also with our Nordic colleagues.”
Claire Reid