Jack Grealish hits out at ‘stupid’ World Cup decision after England thrash Iran

Manchester City star Jack Grealish has slammed FIFA’s decision to prevent England captain Harry Kane from wearing the ‘One Love’ armband at the World Cup.

Kane was set to don the armband as a message of anti-discrimination and support for the LGBTQ+ community. But FIFA ordered England and other nations that were planning to make the gesture to stand down on Monday morning.

The band contains the rainbow colours associated with the Pride flag and had been set to be a strong statement in Qatar, a country which criminalises same-sex relationships.

Kane instead wore Fifa’s ‘No discrimination’ armband – which is not rainbow coloured – after the organising body brought forward its own campaign on Saturday for the finals in Qatar.

The Tottenham striker had previously sported the OneLove armband in Uefa matches this season after the participating nations were given permission but he was unable to do so at the Khalifa International Stadium.

England defeated Iran 6-2 in their World Cup opener in Qatar, with ex- Aston Villa captain Grealish netting the sixth goal.

The Manchester City star revealed the England squad’s frustration that Kane wasn’t allowed to wear the armband.

He said: “Obvioiusly we wanted him to wear it, I think it’s a bit stupid why we couldn’t. Harry himself wanted to wear it, we all wanted Harry to wear it. Sometimes in life and in football things are out of your control.

“I’ll be honest with you, I actually haven’t been in any meetings about it, but from my point of view and everyone else’s in there, we all wanted Harry to wear it. I have read that he might get booked or something – I don’t know how.”

The participating nations had been set to wear the armband going into the finals but, with England the first to take to the field, it was their game which garnered the most attention.

Manager Gareth Southgate said he appreciated Fifa’s stance on the matter but that the issue was not going to prove a distraction for his players.

“It’s not something that the players or myself have been involved with over the last 24 hours,” he said.

“The discussions have been ongoing between several European nations and Fifa. I do understand Fifa’s situation in that you can set a precedent and it’s very difficult then. Where do you draw the line?

“I think in an ideal world that would have been a much clearer situation earlier, but it’s not something that’s been a distraction for us because, as I said [on Sunday], we had to focus on the football.

“We’ve got to just concentrate on performances, concentrate on our training, especially the players. It’s not for them to have to deal with that.

“People know what we stand for, people know this group of players are taking the knee because it’s something we feel we can make a difference with, and there are some things that I’m not sure we’re going to be able to make a difference with and therefore we should channel our energies in the right directions.”

Confusion reigned as to whether England and Wales would wear the rainbow armband until, just hours before kick-off against Iran, the nations involved issued a joint statement.

“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.

“Fifa has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play. 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.”

Kane had been due to wear the OneLove armband, while Wales skipper Gareth Bale was set to sport it in the match against the United States later in the evening. A suspension is issued after two bookings in this tournament, meaning had either player been booked ahead of kick-off, they would already be walking a tightrope.

“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,” the statement continued.

“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 OneLove 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.”

Former Lioness Alex Scott was seen wearing the