Roy Keane believes England captain Harry Kane should have worn the One Love armband in order to make a great statement.
Coming into the tournament, England and Wales’ FA decided their captains were to wear the One Love armband in a bid to show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.
However, on the eve of their Group B matches, FIFA stated that players who wear the armband risk being shown a yellow card as soon as the match got underway.
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As a result, both England and Wales decided to ditch their original plans.
Keane, whilst working for ITV felt they should have gone ahead with the plan and taken the punishment that came with it.
The former Manchester United captain said: “I think the players could have worn the armbands for the first game, and took the punishment, whatever that might be.
“Kane, they were saying, was risking a yellow card as that might be the punishment. But that would have been a great statement.”
Keane continued: “If you get your yellow card, what a message that would have been, from Kane or Bale. Take your medicine, and then move on. Then, in the next game, you don’t wear it because you don’t want to be getting suspended, but I think it was a big mistake.
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“Both players – and we are talking about Wales and England here – they should have stuck to their guns and done it. Whatever about pressures from the outside, or your own associations, have the belief – if that is what you believe – and go with it.”
A joint statement from England, Wales, Belgium, Holland, Germany Switzerland and Denmark said: “Fifa has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play.
“As national federations, we can't put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games.
“We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband.
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“However we cannot put our players in a position where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.”
Featured Image Credit: ITV/AlamyTopics: Roy Keane, England, Wales, Football World Cup
