FIFA's emergency gesture for players who receive racial abuse at World Cup

Players have been informed of the special gesture they must perform in order to alert referees to any racist incidents at the World Cup.

The showpiece in North America gets underway on Thursday 11 June with co-host Mexico taking on South Africa in a repeat of the 2010 opener.

The revamped 48-team tournament will include a total of 104 games across Mexico, Canada and the United States.

And with just over a week until the action kicks off, the anti-racism protocols for the competition have been confirmed.

On Wednesday, journalist Henry Winter revealed that players have been told to cross their forearms and make an 'X' gesture if any on-field or off-field incidents occur.

This will then attract the attention of the referee, who will initiate a key three-step procedure.

The official will be required to stop the game and potentially suspend proceedings for 15 minutes and even abandon the action completely should the abuse continue.

FIFA's World Cup anti-racism gesture explained

The idea is central to FIFA's 'No Racism' campaign and was put to all 211 members of various associations.

They then voted at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok in 2024 before the gesture was first brought into play at the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup.

"Implementing the 'No Racism' gesture at the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup 2024 in Colombia is a key first step to empowering players throughout the world," FIFA president Gianni Infantino said at the time.

"Now enshrined in the three-step procedure, we look forward to seeing this rolled out all over the world to maximum effect.

"This was backed through unanimous support at the FIFA Congress by all 211 FIFA Member Associations. I thank FIFA's members for their determination and efforts in what is a united fight to eradicate racism from football, and society, for good.

"I would like to thank all the players – current and past – that contributed to this step forward."

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The gesture has been seen in two Real Madrid games - against Pachuca and Benfica respectively - after Antonio Rudiger and Vinicius Jr reported alleged racist abuse.

McGinn performed the 'X' gesture in a photoshoot. Image: Getty

Referees Ramon Abatti and Francois Letexier both used the signal, but it has not been used by a player or in a World Cup.

Players participating in the World Cup performed the gesture in photocalls ahead of the tournament, including Scotland and Aston Villa star John McGinn.