World Cup lets down LGBTQs: 7 Euro teams ditch One Love band amid Qatar homosexuality ban

European football teams, including England and Wales, will not wear the One Love armband at the 2022 FIFA World Cup over the threats of players being booked.

The captains of seven European nations - England, Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark-  won't wear "One Love" armbands in games after FIFA said that players would be shown yellow cards,

The OneLove armband seeks to boost diversity and inclusion and was set to be worn in the FIFA world cup host country Qatar where homosexuality is illegal.

In a joint statement, the seven football associations said that they could not put their players "in a position where they could face sporting sanctions."

"We are very frustrated by the FIFA decision which we believe is unprecedented", it continued.

In a separate statement, the Dutch football federation said, "Our number one priority at the World Cup is to win the games...Then you don’t want the captain to start the match with a yellow card."

The governing bodies of England, Wales, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and Netherlands had written to FIFA in September about their decision to don the One Love armband but did not receive a response. 

During a meeting with European soccer federations on Sunday, Federation Internationale de Football Association or FIFA raised the prospects of yellow cards if captains wear a heart-shaped multi-coloured armband.

Meanwhile, FIFA said that the captains of all teams can wear an armband with the "No Discrimination" slogan from the quarter-finals stage.

"For FIFA final competitions, the captain of each team must wear the captain’s armband provided by FIFA," Article 13.8.1 of the FIFA Equipment Regulations states.

Since Qatar received the World Cup hosting rights in 2010, the nation has faced flak regarding its criminalisation of gay and lesbian sex and the treatment of low-paid migrant workers. Recently, beer sales were also banned at stadiums after pressure from the Qatari government.