FIFA has yet to comment on what Germany did during the World Cup game.
Germany made headlines for their OneLove armband protest in their opening game of World Cup 2022 against Japan.
The move marked another day of tension between the seven European nations who supported the OneLove campaign and FIFA, with the group – which includes the English and Welsh FAs – exploring their legal options over the matter.
The fresh report comes that Germany will not face any disciplinary action from FIFA. German players covered their mouths during a team photo at the World Cup.
The Football Association declined to comment on whether the England team would copy the German gesture ahead of their match against the US on Friday.
The Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney said he was “furious” with FIFA’s behaviour.
Mooney told ITV: “Months and months (FIFA) have known we were going to wear the OneLove armband, and to lay that one on us is pretty cheap and pretty low to be frank and we’re really disappointed by that attitude.
“We’ve been absolutely furious about this, we’ve given FIFA everything we’ve got in terms of how furious we are about this decision. We think this was a terrible decision.”
Asked whether he felt it looked like the OneLove group had backed down, Mooney said: “We didn’t back down. We had to look at the sporting sanction that was there.
“We had said we would take fines, we would accept whatever sanctions came, but when it turned at the very last moment to specific sporting sanctions that would have stopped our players taking the field of play potentially, that’s a different thing. It was done so late.”
The OneLove campaign started in September and runs for a year but was set to be especially significant during the World Cup in Qatar, a country where same-sex relationships are criminalised.
Speaking about Germany’s protest, Germany coach Hansi Flick said: “It was a sign, a message that we wanted to send out. We wanted to convey the message that FIFA is silencing us.”
The German gesture could have prompted disciplinary action from FIFA under Article 11 of its disciplinary code. It states that anyone “using a sports event for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature” may be sanctioned.
FIFA has yet to comment on what the German team did, but it is understood there will be no formal disciplinary action from the governing body.
Switzerland are also part of the OneLove group, but their captain Granit Xhaka indicated his team would not stage a similar protest against Cameroon.
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