Fifa's discrimination monitor at the World Cup has called for the removal of a video assistant referee (VAR) official after he appeared to make a hand gesture resembling a white supremacist sign during the broadcast of Germany's opening match against Curaçao.
Incident During Broadcast
When the official broadcast cut to the VAR centre in Dallas before the game on Sunday, Shaun Evans from Australia made an upside-down 'OK' symbol with his right hand in front of his right leg. The gesture, formed by touching thumb and forefinger in a circle with other fingers outstretched, was designated a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League in 2019.
The game was played in Houston, but VAR officials operate from the World Cup broadcast centre in Dallas.
Fare Network's Response
The Fare network, a longtime partner of Fifa and Uefa that monitors racist and discriminatory behaviour at international matches, issued a strong statement. "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 statement said. "Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup." Fare described the gesture as "neo-Nazi."
Fifa was asked for comment. In Australia, the Professional Football Referees Association and Football Australia were also contacted.
Context and Uncertainty
It remains unclear whether Evans, working at his first World Cup game, was making a political gesture or engaging in a children's game prank. The "gotcha" or "circle game" involves flashing an upside-down OK sign below the waist and punching anyone who looks at it. This gesture was appropriated a decade ago as a white supremacy signal, originating as a hoax on the far-right online forum 4chan.
In 2019, when the ADL added the symbol to its hate symbol list, Oren Segal, director of the ADL's Centre on Extremism, noted that context is key. "There is enough of a volume of use for hateful purposes that we felt it was important to add," he said.
World Cup Context
Evans is among 30 VAR officials selected by Fifa for the World Cup, which is being played across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Fare questioned the timing: "Why is a VAR supervisor using this symbol at a global football event at the very moment he knows the cameras are on him?" They noted that in subsequent games, TV directors have stopped introducing the VAR panel to the audience.
