Denmark have revealed that they have had internal discussions about withdrawing completely from FIFA after the decision to effectively ban the OneLove armband at the World Cup.
The Nordic side were among seven European nations who had hoped to wear the OneLove armband at the 2022 World Cup. However, FIFA blocked the move, saying they would at least dish out yellow cards for anyone wearing the armband.
Danish FA (DBU) CEO Jakob Jensen explained that captain Simon Kjaer would have been booked as a ‘minimum’ punishment should he have worn the armband against Tunisia. He said: “On October 21, England asked for an emergency meeting with FIFA, who came to the English hotel. FIFA said it would at least give a yellow card.
“There has been discussion about whether there is a legal basis for giving a yellow card, but there is. The penalty could have been a yellow card, that the captain had not come on the pitch or that he was given a ban.”
DBU chairman Jesper Moller added: “There are presidential elections in FIFA. There are 211 countries in FIFA and I understand that the current president has statements of support from 207 countries. Denmark is not among those countries. And we’re not going to be either.
“It is not a decision that has been made now. We have been clear about this for a long time. We have been discussing it in the Nordic region since August.
“I’ve thought it again. I imagine that there may be challenges if Denmark leaves on its own. But let us see if we cannot have a dialogue on things.
“I have to think about the question of how to restore confidence in FIFA. We must evaluate what has happened, and then we must create a strategy – also with our Nordic colleagues.”
