FIFA block Denmark from wearing kit with ‘human rights for all’ message at World Cup

Christian Eriksen displays one of Denmark’s World Cup kits (Picture: Getty)

The Danish Football Association has confirmed FIFA has rejected their national team’s request to train at the World Cup in shirts with the words ‘human rights for all’ on them.

The DBU said in 2021 that their two training kit sponsors would make way for messages critical of Qatar while also minimising the number of trips to the country to avoid commercial activities promoting the World Cup hosts’ events.

Qatar has come under intense pressure over its treatment of migrant workers and restrictive social laws, leading many participating teams to raise concerns. The country has denied claims that workers were exploited.

‘We have today got a message from FIFA that the training shirts our players were to train in, where it would say ‘human rights for all’ at the stomach [of the shirt], have been rejected due to technical reasons, which is regrettable’ Jakob Jensen, the DBU chief executive, told Ritzau news agency.

Fifa declined to comment. Its rules stipulate that any team equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images.

‘We believe the message ‘human rights for all’ is universal and not a political call, but something everyone can support,’ Jensen said.

FIFA wrote to World Cup teams this month urging them to focus on football in Qatar and not let the sport be dragged into ideological or political issues.

Danish kit manufacturers Hummelsport have designed their new kits to protest against Qatar’s human rights record (Picture: Instagram)

Hummel, the kit manufacturer, said in September it had toned down the details on Denmark’s World Cup jerseys and released a black kit as a protest against Qatar’s human rights record ahead of the tournament.

Denmark play their first game of the World Cup against Tunisia in Group D on 22 November.

Earlier this week, disgraced former FIFA chief Sepp Blatter confessed selecting Qatar as the host nation, a decision he presided over during his time at the helm, was a mistake.

‘The choice of Qatar was a mistake,’ Blatter told Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger.

‘At the time, we actually agreed in the executive committee that Russia should get the 2018 World Cup and the USA that of 2022.

‘It would have been a gesture of peace if the two long-standing political opponents had hosted the World Cup one after the other.

‘It’s too small a country. Football and the World Cup are too big for that.’

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The DBU said in 2021 that their two training kit sponsors would make way for messages critical of Qatar.