GENEVA (AP).- Other controversy emerged a few days before the start of the 2026 World Cup. The discrimination monitor of the FIFA asked this Monday to withdraw from the tournament a VAR review referee for having made a hand gesture which resembles a signal used by white supremacy groups.
On Sunday, the broadcast of the match between Germany and Curacao briefly showed the referees appointed for the match. Among them was the Australian Shaun Evanswho while posing for the photo made a inverted “OK” gesture with the right hand in front of his leg.
The gesture—in which the thumb and index finger are joined together to form a circle and the other fingers extended—was officially designated as a “symbol of hate” by the American Anti-Defamation League (ADL)based in New York.
FARE (““Football Against Racism in Europe”football against racism in Europe, in English) Network, which has been working for a long time at FIFA and UEFA to monitor racist chants, flags and symbols, assured that the gesture is used as a symbol of “white power” in global far-right circles.
“It is clear that this official should not have any additional role in this World Cup,” Fare added in a statement in which He described the sign as “neo-Nazi.”. It is still not clear whether Evans made the gesture politically or as a joke, which is why FIFA did not communicate the opening of a formal disciplinary file or report a possible suspension or expulsion of the referee, but it did open investigations against the Australian and put the video that started the controversy under review.
Although the symbol has other everyday uses in many countries, it was initially popularized as a joke through Internet forums such as 4chan. Over time, it was adopted by far-right and white supremacist groups. The three extended fingers represent the letter “W” (from White“white”) and the circle together with the index simulates the letter “P”: together, they symbolize the initials of “White Power”.
Even the Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant flaunted the same symbol while appearing in court in March 2019, shortly after being arrested for the alleged murder of 50 people in a shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Ultimately, the 25-year-old man was sentenced to life sentence without parole.
Evans, 38, is one of the 30 VAR officials selected by the FIFA to work on the tournament being held between the United States, Canada and Mexico. Although the match was played in Houston, the video referees operate from the World Cup broadcast center in Dallas.
So far, neither the Association of Professional Football Referees nor the governing body of football in Australia have commented on what happened. Evans, for his part, did not speak either and He temporarily deactivated his Instagram account.
