England captain Harry Kane has been blasted for failing to make a stand against discrimination in his team’s opening game at the 2022 World Cup.
Kane buckled under pressure from FIFA, who threatened to book any captain wearing the OneLove rainbow armband in World Cup matches.
The Tottenham Hotspur striker had been adamant that he would wear the armband as a message of anti-discrimination and support for the LGBTQ+ community.
However, faced with the threat of being issued with a yellow card for defying FIFA, Kane, the English Football Association and several other nations backed down.
Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol hit out at the decision and questioned why Kane did not defy FIFA’s ruling.
“It is an extraordinary climb-down by the FA,” said Solhekol. “They are going to get criticised a lot for it and, to be fair, I think they deserve a lot of that criticism.
“OK, Harry Kane would have got a yellow card – so what? Surely he should have just taken that yellow card on the chin?
“The focus would have then been on FIFA, because they would have had to justify, showing Kane – one of the best players in the world, one of the faces of this tournament, the holder of the Golden Boot from the last World Cup – a yellow card before the tournament had even kicked off for England because he’s wearing an armband.
“It’s not even a rainbow armband – it’s got a heart in it, it says ‘OneLove’ and it’s got the colours of the rainbow in that heart.
“Are FIFA so offended by a statement supporting LGBTQ+ rights that they are going to this length to stop Kane and the captains of six other countries from wearing this armband?”
Kane misses the chance to make a stand
While FIFA and the FA have undoubtedly done themselves no favours over this issue, Kane does not emerge unscathed from this sorry mess.
Regardless of what either governing body had to say, this was an opportunity to demonstrate that he was truly supportive of the LGBTQ+ community.
When you care about something passionately, you do not seek permission to make a stand.
Kane and many others in football repeatedly argue they are supportive of causes relating to discrimination.
The England captain had the chance to make some noise in Qatar and chose not to. He took the coward’s route out and that stinks.
The next time he starts spouting about supporting a cause, don’t bother listening.
He’s just one of a sorry band of people who pay lip service to tackling discrimination. He should be ashamed of himself.
