Australian Shaun Evans (left) made the gesture while being introduced as a video assistant referee at the tournament.
A WORLD CUP referee has denied intentionally making a white supremacist gesture at the opening of a match.
Fifa had been urged to remove Australian Shaun Evans, a video assistant referee (VAR), after he was broadcast making a gesture, which he has since claimed was a “subconscious twitch”.
During the opening of the match, the broadcast cut to the room where the VAR team were working in the referee hub in Dallas. Briefly focusing on match officials before the game kicks off has made up part of the World Cup’s match coverage.
Evans was broadcast holding his pointer finger to his thumb in an upside-down ‘OK’ sign, with his other fingers outstretched. The gesture has been associated with white supremacy for a number of years, with sporting organisations recognising it as such.
In a statement to the Times, Evans said: “I would like to clarify that I did not intentionally make a hand gesture or symbol to communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind.
“The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch and I was unaware I had done it at the time. Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers.”
In 2019, Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant made the gesture in court after he was charged the murder of dozens of worshippers at two New Zealand mosques.
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O cidadão no VAR de Alemanha e Curaçao fez um gesto com as mãos que é associado a um símbolo de supremacia branca.
The ADL is described as the “leading anti-hate organisation in the world”.
It said the symbol “became a popular trolling tactic on the part of right-leaning individuals, who would often post photos to social media of themselves posing while making the ‘okay’ gesture”.
The ADL urged caution in assessing the gesture, as it also can refer to a child’s game, where one person makes the gesture, and when someone notices it they are punched in the arm.
Fifa’s anti-racism partner, the Fare network, earlier called on the sporting body to remove Evans from its World Cup VAR team.
“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,” the network said.
“Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup.”
World Cup referee accused of making 'white supremacy' gesture says it was 'subconscious twitch'
LAST UPDATE | 15 Jun
A WORLD CUP referee has denied intentionally making a white supremacist gesture at the opening of a match.
Fifa had been urged to remove Australian Shaun Evans, a video assistant referee (VAR), after he was broadcast making a gesture, which he has since claimed was a “subconscious twitch”.
He was working at Germany’s game against Curaçao on Sunday, where Germany finished ahead, 7-1.
During the opening of the match, the broadcast cut to the room where the VAR team were working in the referee hub in Dallas. Briefly focusing on match officials before the game kicks off has made up part of the World Cup’s match coverage.
Evans was broadcast holding his pointer finger to his thumb in an upside-down ‘OK’ sign, with his other fingers outstretched. The gesture has been associated with white supremacy for a number of years, with sporting organisations recognising it as such.
In a statement to the Times, Evans said: “I would like to clarify that I did not intentionally make a hand gesture or symbol to communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind.
“The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch and I was unaware I had done it at the time. Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers.”
In 2019, Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant made the gesture in court after he was charged the murder of dozens of worshippers at two New Zealand mosques.
In 2019, it was designated a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
The ADL is described as the “leading anti-hate organisation in the world”.
It said the symbol “became a popular trolling tactic on the part of right-leaning individuals, who would often post photos to social media of themselves posing while making the ‘okay’ gesture”.
The ADL urged caution in assessing the gesture, as it also can refer to a child’s game, where one person makes the gesture, and when someone notices it they are punched in the arm.
Fifa’s anti-racism partner, the Fare network, earlier called on the sporting body to remove Evans from its World Cup VAR team.
“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,” the network said.
“Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup.”
Fifa has been contacted for comment.
Written by Emma Hickey and posted on TheJournal.ie
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