Competing nations previously planning to wear a OneLove armband at the World Cup have told their captains not to attempt to do so for fear of sporting sanctions.
Federations from England, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Wales were all set to wear the the rainbow armbands in Qatar, with Harry Kane the first player poised to do so when England face Iran in their first game in Group B on Monday afternoon.
A joint statement from the seven European nations confirmed they had asked for the armbands to no longer be worn.
"FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play," the statement began.
"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."
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The armband contains the colours associated with the Pride flag and had been set to be a strong statement in Qatar, a country which criminalises same-sex relationships.
The statement continued: "We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. However, we cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.
"We are very frustrated by the FIFA decision which we believe is unprecedented – we wrote to FIFA in September informing them of our wish to wear the One Love armband to actively support inclusion in football, and had no response.
"Our players and coaches are disappointed – they are strong supporters of inclusion and will show support in other ways."
FIFA announced on Saturday its own plans for an armband to highlight a series of social campaigns at each stage of the tournament.
'No discrimination' had been due to be the theme for the quarter-finals but the global governing body confirmed on Monday, within seconds of the joint FAs’ release, that it had been brought forward.
The statement also reminded teams that "For FIFA Final Competitions, the captain of each team must wear the captain’s armband provided by FIFA."
The FIFA statement added: "FIFA is an inclusive organisation that wants to put football to the benefit of society by supporting good and legitimate causes, but it has to be done within the framework of the competition regulations which are known to everyone."
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