Monitor Calls for VAR Official’s Removal

FIFA’s discrimination monitor at the World Cup has called for a VAR official to be removed for appearing to make a hand gesture resembling a white supremacist sign, according to Al Jazeera. The incident occurred during the broadcast of Germany’s opening game against Curacao on Sunday — Shaun Evans from Australia made the gesture while part of the team of video review analysts.

Gesture Categorized as Hate Symbol

The gesture in question. An “OK” symbol made with the thumb and forefinger forming a circle and other fingers outstretched, was designated a hate symbol by the New York-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in 2019. The Fare network. A long-time partner of FIFA and European football body UEFA to monitor racist and discriminatory chants, flags, and symbols at international games, said the gesture “clearly resembles an upside down ‘OK’ hand symbol used as a ‘white power’ symbol in global far-right circles.”.

“Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup,” Fare stated in a statement, describing the gesture as “neo-Nazi.” The organization has urged FIFA to take action regarding the official’s continued involvement in the tournament.

Uncertainty Over Intent and Context

It was unclear if Evans. Working at his first game at the World Cup, was making a political gesture or playing a children’s game prank. The “gotcha” or “circle game” is where someone flashes an upside-down OK sign below their waist and punches the shoulder of anyone who looks at it. This gesture was appropriated a decade ago as a signal for white supremacy that started as a hoax on the far-right online message board 4chan.

In 2019, when the sign was designated as a hate symbol, Oren Segal, director of the ADL’s Center on Extremism, said context is key to interpreting whether an “OK” symbol is hateful or harmless. At the time, he noted, “there is enough of a volume of use for hateful purposes that we felt it was important to add.”

Evans is among 30 video review analysts selected by FIFA to work at the World Cup being played in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. “Why is a VAR supervisor using this symbol at a global football event at the very moment he knows the cameras are on him?” Fare asked in a statement. “We note that in the two subsequent games it appears TV directors have stopped introducing the VAR panel to the TV audience.”

FIFA has been asked by Al Jazeera for comment. In Australia, the Professional Football Referees Association and governing body Football Australia were also contacted for comment. The incident has sparked a broader discussion on the significance of gestures in public and political contexts, particularly during international sporting events.