World Cup racism monitor urges Fifa to remove VAR official over 'white supremacy' gesture
The gesture formed a circle with the thumb and forefinger, with the remaining fingers extended.
Fifa's discrimination monitor at the World Cup has urged Fifa to remove a video assistant referee (VAR) official from World Cup duties after he appeared to make a hand gesture that has been linked by some advocacy groups to white supremacist symbolism.
The incident involved Australian VAR official Shaun Evans, who was seen on the official broadcast of Germany's opening match against Curaçao on Sunday making an "OK" hand sign with his right hand during a pre-match segment, reports Associated Press.
The gesture formed a circle with the thumb and forefinger, with the remaining fingers extended.
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The Fare network, a long-time Fifa and Uefa partner that monitors racist and discriminatory behaviour in football, said the gesture "clearly resembles" an inverted "OK" sign associated in some far-right circles with white supremacist meaning.
"Advice from our experts is that the gesture used clearly resembles an upside down 'OK' hand symbol used as a 'white power' symbol in global far-right circles," the organisation said in a statement.
It added that the official "should have no further role to play in this World Cup."
Fifa did not immediately comment on the matter. The Professional Football Referees Association in Australia and Football Australia were also approached for comment.
The "OK" hand sign has been the subject of controversy in recent years after being added in 2019 to a database of hate symbols by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), although experts have noted that its meaning can depend heavily on context and may also be used innocently.
Some observers suggested the gesture may have been part of the so-called "circle game," a prank in which players form the sign below the waist and lightly punch someone who looks at it.
The game was later co-opted in certain online spaces as a symbol of extremist messaging, according to monitoring groups.
Evans is among around 30 VAR officials appointed by Fifa for the tournament jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Fare questioned the timing of the gesture's appearance on live broadcast, asking why a VAR official would use such a sign while being shown on camera during a global event.
