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A World Cup referee has been accused of making a “White power” hand gesture when match coverage cut to the video referee studio during Germany’s 7-1 victory over Curaçao on Sunday.
The gesture, in which the thumb and index finger touch while the other fingers of the hand are held outstretched, has historically been perceived as meaning OK. However, in recent years, it has been used to symbolize White power, with the three remaining fingers spelling W for White and the thumb and index finger enabling a P to be drawn for Power.
The Australian White supremacist Brenton Tarrant made the symbol during a 2019 courtroom appearance following his arrest for murdering 50 people in a shooting at mosques in New Zealand.
Australian referee Shaun Evans appeared to place his hand into the position Sunday when the cameras cut to the studio.
A FIFA spokesperson initially said the organization was aware of the incident but declined to comment further, later saying on Monday that the organization was looking into the matter. The Athletic also extended the right of reply to the official via FIFA.
The anti-discrimination Fare network, which specializes in challenging inequalities in football, released a statement on Sunday night. It said: “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.
“Why is a VAR supervisor using this symbol at a global football event at the very moment he knows the cameras are on him? It can only be that he is intentionally transmitting a far-right neo-nazi symbol.
“We note that in the two subsequent games it appears TV directors have stopped introducing the VAR panel to the TV audience.
“A global television audience should not be subjected to extremist far right individuals using neo-Nazi symbols as they prepare to watch a match. Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup.”
In a post on FIFA’s website in 2023, it described Fare as having been a “close partner” in FIFA’s human rights and anti-discrimination work since 2015, “through the implementation of the anti-discrimination monitoring system at FIFA competitions to identify and help address discriminatory incidents in stadia.” Fare network is also monitoring discrimination for FIFA both in venues and on social media during this summer’s World Cup, making its intervention a significant one for the World Cup organizer.
(Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
The symbol is characterized as a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) but it warns that particular “caution” must be taken with this gesture. Its website says: “Because of the traditional meaning of the “okay” hand gesture, as well as other usages unrelated to white supremacy, particular care must be taken not to jump to conclusions about the intent behind someone who has used the gesture.”
The gesture has also been a playground game where one person makes the motion and if a second person looks down, they can receive a punch in the arm from the first.
After a U.S. Coast Guard employee was accused of making the gesture in September 2018, the organization wrote on social media that it had “removed him from the response. His actions do not reflect those of the United States Coast Guard.”
In May 2019, the Chicago Cubs of the MLB banned a fan from Wrigley Field stadium for making the gesture in the background of an NBC Sports broadcast, with the club saying that “an individual was observed on camera using an offensive hand gesture that is associated with racism.”
In July 2023, MLS side D.C. United terminated the employment of an athletic trainer who made the symbol in a social media post, according to the BBC. The team said “a discriminatory hand gesture” was the reason behind the termination.
The video first attracted widespread attention on social media around lunchtime ET and, as of late Sunday night, FIFA did not have an explanation to share with media from the referee.
Evans, a former bricklayer from the Australian state of Victoria, turned professional in 2o16, having been a part-time official in Australia’s A-League since 2008. He has officiated over 200 games in Australia’s top flight and is one of the country’s most experienced officials.
He became a FIFA referee in 2017, and was selected as a video assistant referee for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He has again been selected as a VAR at this summer’s tournament, rather than for on-field duties.