Tuesday 22 November 2022 03:59 PM England 'BLACKMAILED' into dropping One Love armband at World Cup, German FA ... trends now England were 'BLACKMAILED' by FIFA into dropping One Love armband at World Cup and threatened with 'massive sporting sanctions' - which prompted other nations to follow suit - German FA reveals BREAKING: More to follow By David Averre For Mailonline Published: 15:46 GMT, 22 November 2022 | Updated: 15:52 GMT, 22 November 2022 Viewcomments England and other teams planning to wear the the 'OneLove' armbands to make a statement against discrimination during the World Cup in Qatar were faced with 'extreme blackmail' of 'massive sanctions', the German Football Association (DFB) claimed today. The federations of England, Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark had said on Monday they had been put under pressure by FIFA, who had threatened to issue yellow cards to any player wearing the multi-coloured armband. The DFB's media director Steffen Simon told German Deutschlandfunk radio that England, who had been the first team to be expected to wear it on Monday in their game against Iran, had been threatened with multiple sporting sanctions to prevent them from making the gesture in support of LGBT+ rights. 'The tournament director went to the English team and talked about multiple rule violations and threatened with massive sporting sanctions without specifying what these would be,' Simon said. Homosexuality is illegal in the Gulf state and punishable by up to seven years in prison. Competing nations previously planning to wear a 'One Love' armband at the World Cup were 'blackmailed' into not doing so, it has been claimed BBC Presenter and former footballer Alex Scott is pictured wearing OneLove armband Simon, who did not specify if he was referring to local organisers or FIFA in his reference to the tournament director, said the other six nations then decided to 'show solidarity' and not wear it. 'We lost the armband and it is very painful but we are the same people as before with the same values. We are not impostors who claim they have values and then betray them,' he said. 'We were in an extreme situation, in an extreme blackmail and we thought we had to take that decision without wanting to do so.' The English team did not want to comment on this matter. FIFA and local organisers did not respond to Reuters requests for a comment. The reaction in Germany to the DFB's U-turn has been one of scathing criticism, with supermarket chain REWE dropping its deal with the DFB. The federation's reputation has suffered in recent years with four previous presidents resigning amid corruption allegations and other scandals, or tarnished by them. 'I can understand the disappointment. We had the choice between the plague and cholera,' Simon said. Now the German FA is considering taking legal action against FIFA to end its ban on wearing the armbands during the World Cup. The DFB is planning to make a legal motion to the International Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) over FIFA's ban, which has only added the wider criticism of its decision to award Qatar rights to host football's largest international spectacle. 'FIFA has banned us from showing diversity and human rights,' a DFB spokesperson told Welt. The DFB will be hoping that legal action will overturn FIFA's decision to ban the armband in time to allow captain Manuel Neuer to wear it when the German national team faces off against Spain on Sunday - without him receiving a yellow card. It is unlikely that the ban will be overturned before Germany faces off against Japan in their first match on Wednesday. While the European nations decided to drop the armbands, the national team of Iran declined to sing their anthem before their opening World Cup match on Monday in a sign of support for mass protests back home and a violent state crackdown on the unrest. 'We have a lot of respect to what the Iran team did yesterday,' Simon said. 'We feel with the Iranian women. Yes, we don't have the symbol anymore but we still stand by the values associated with this symbol. 'The DFB is in a fundamental opposition within FIFA,' he said. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility