FIFA partner calls for Australian ref to be sacked over hand gesture

FIFA's discrimination monitoring group, Fare, has demanded the removal of Australian video review official Shaun Evans from the World Cup. The call follows Evans' appearance during a live broadcast of Germany's opening match against Curaçao, where he was seen making an "OK" hand gesture.

The gesture, formed by touching the thumb and forefinger in a circle with the other fingers extended, has a dual interpretation. While commonly used as a harmless children's game or a simple "OK" sign, it has also been appropriated by far-right circles as a symbol of white supremacy. The Anti-Defamation League designated it a hate symbol in 2019.

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Advice from our experts is that the gesture used clearly resembles an upside down 'OK' hand symbol used as a 'white power' symbol in global far-right circles.

Fare stated that the gesture "clearly resembles an upside down 'OK' hand symbol used as a 'white power' symbol in global far-right circles" and described it as "neo-Nazi." Consequently, the organization believes Evans "should have no further role to play in this World Cup." FIFA and Football Australia have been approached for comment.

It remains unclear whether Evans' gesture was intentional or part of the "circle game," a prank popularized by a TV show where participants punch anyone who looks at the sign when it's displayed below the waist. The context of such gestures is crucial, as noted by Oren Segal of the ADL's Center on Extremism, who previously emphasized that the volume of hateful usage necessitates its inclusion in hate symbol designations.

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Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup.