“As national federations we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including bookings,” the seven soccer federations mentioned Monday in a joint assertion.

The climbdown after threats from FIFA got here hours earlier than England’s Harry Kane, the Netherlands’ Virgil van Dijk and Wales’ Gareth Bale had been as a consequence of put on the One Love armbands in Monday’s video games. The captains of Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark had been additionally anticipated to put on the armbands within the coming days.

“Our number one priority at the World Cup is to win the games,” the Dutch soccer federation mentioned in a separate assertion. “Then you don’t want the captain to start the match with a yellow card.”

The One Love marketing campaign was began within the Netherlands and its image is a heart-shaped multi-colored emblem aimed toward selling inclusion and variety in soccer and society.