Ban so what? Harry Kane wears rainbow watch amid 'OneLove' armband controversy in Qatar

England captain Harry Kane on Monday came up with a unique strategy to defy FIFA's ban on the 'OneLove' armband that he was due to wear at the ongoing World Cup in support of the LGBTQ+ community. Before England's opening match against Iran on Monday, FIFA asked European nations not to wear the rainbow-themed armband in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal. However, Kane came up with a plan to rally against FIFA's order by wearing a rainbow-coloured diamond wrist watch ahead of England's game against Iran. 

A picture of Kane is going viral on social media where he can be seen wearing the rainbow-themed armband. The photo was shared by Instagram handle Insane Luxury Life. 

The 'OneLove' armband controversy

The rainbow-themed products have gained a lot of attention during the ongoing World Cup being held in Qatar. Security personnel at the stadium's entrance stopped a number of spectators during the match between USA and Wales and instructed them to remove their rainbow-themed merchandise. The OneLove armbands were scheduled to be worn by several teams, including England, Switzerland, Wales, Belgium, and Germany during the current World Cup, but they were forced to abandon the idea after FIFA threatened them with sanctions.

After FIFA imposed the ban, the European teams issued a joint statement, where they said that they have asked the captains not to wear the 'OneLove' armbands in World Cup games because they can't put their players in a position where they could face sanctions.   

"FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play. As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games," the abovementioned teams announced in a joint statement after the order from FIFA.

Recently when Belgium skipper Eden Hazard was asked about his decision to not wear the ‘OneLove’ armband, he made the admission about not being comfortable talking about the situation. He said, “I’m not comfortable talking about it because I’m here to play football. We were banned… I didn’t want to start the match with a yellow card, it would have been annoying for the rest of the tournament. To do it again, maybe I will postpone it."

Image: AP