Column: FAs might want to send political messages during the World Cup in Qatar – but avoiding breaking the rules is a delicate act
Alamy
Can the national football associations allow national teams to carry political statements on football players’ shirts during the World Cup in Qatar?
In this column, Sports Lawyer Frederik Bruhn, partner at the law firm DAHL, runs through FIFA’s Laws of the Game to explore what football federations and players can and can’t do.
“…national football federations will to some extent be able to make room for slogans on players' training suits that support respect for fundamental human rights without breaking FIFA's rules,” he writes.
But whether you are breaking the rules or not can be determined by some very small details.
22 December 2021 - 2:30 PM
Several national teams have now qualified for the World Cup in Qatar next year. An intensified level of activism was apparent in the qualification rounds from many of the teams, aimed at putting pressure on the Qatar regime to improve respect for human rights.
So far, the activism has included political statements printed on players’ football s
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