Denmark is the first nation in Europe to order a large number of Syrian refugees to return home.
FIFA has been urged by a Danish human rights organisation to permit referees to raise awareness on Denmark’s racism against vulnerable communities by donning armbands at the 2022 World Cup games in Qatar.
The organisation, DENMARK UNCENSORED, urged FIFA President Gianni Infantino in an open letter to “support marginalised and vulnerable people affected by the racist laws of the Danish government.”
A group of Danish human rights advocates and expatriates who were frustrated by the racist policies of the Danish government that target minorities and people of colour founded the organisation in 2020.
The organisation thanked the State of Qatar for its extraordinary efforts in organising the 2022 World Cup tournament in its open letter. It urged FIFA to seize this chance to raise awareness of and recognise the “appalling circumstances” facing refugees and people of colour in Denmark who experience “intolerable violations” by the government.
The letter also detailed various human rights abuses committed in Denmark against women, minorities, refugees and athletes.
“Despite the claims of the Danish government that the country is democratic and human rights are respected, human rights organisations and various sports establishments have reported several waves of violations against all segments of society, especially against women and homosexuals,” stated the letter.
Before the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting a few days ago, Danish human rights activists staged a sit-in in front of the UN building in Geneva to denounce abuses and racism there.
Denmark is the first nation in Europe to order a large number of Syrian refugees to return home.
The campaign comes as Denmark faces criticism in Qatar after unveiling controversial “protest” kits for its national team at the upcoming World Cup.
“We don’t wish to be visible during a tournament that has cost thousands of people their lives. We support the Danish national team all the way, but that isn’t the same as supporting Qatar as a host nation,” kit manufacturer Hummel announced in a statement last Wednesday.
According to the announcement, the third kit, which is all-black, represents the “colour of mourning.” On the other two uniforms—a straightforward maroon home shirt and an all-white away jersey—the Denmark badge has also been “toned down.”
In order to allegedly make room for criticism of Qatar, sponsors of Denmark’s training uniform will also reportedly remove their logos from the product. However, it is unclear what will be added and whether FIFA would permit this.
According to Hummel’s statement, the Danes do not want to be associated with a World Cup that “has cost thousands of lives.”
Officials from Qatar have in the past disputed the statistics regarding migrant workers who died while working on World Cup facilities, claiming that the real number at the time in 2021 was 37, and only three of those deaths were “work-related.”
Authorities have also denounced the Danish team’s kits as “trivialising” to progress made to concerns over address migrant worker rights in the country.
Palestine armbands
Last week, social media users have called on Arab football team captains to wear special armbands in the colours of the Palestinian flag at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November.
The hashtag “#شارة_الكابتن_فلسطينية, or ‘the captain’s armband’ trended on Twitter in response to some European teams’ plans to wear armbands in support of Ukraine and LGBTQIA+ rights.
Armbands are among the most recent and prominent symbolic methods used by players to showcase their support for causes, and has recently been used to call out Qatar for its treatment of migrant workers.
England, alongside nine other European nations, recently announced it will support a new ‘One Love’ campaign promoting ‘inclusion and equality’ at this year’s World Cup in Qatar.
The initiative, created by the Netherlands, will also be supported by Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales, aiming to “send a message against discrimination of any kind as the eyes of the world fall on the global game,” the English Football Association (FA) said last month.
Users are demanding Arab teams also wear leadership badges bearing the Palestinian flag, to express their solidarity with the Palestinian cause and denounce the West’s double standards in sports.
