Denmark has had a request denied to wear specific training shirts during the World Cup supporting human rights. The shirts would have featured the phrase ‘Menskeregetteigs for alle,’ which translates to ‘Human Rights for All’ in English.
Ultimately, FIFA claimed it denied the team’s request because of specific rules.
Denmark’s team director, Jakob Jensen, confirmed that the world’s governing body of the sport rejected the request. “Today we received a message from FIFA that the training shirt we had thought the players should train in, which says ‘Human Rights for All’ on the stomach, has been rejected for technical reasons, and we are sorry about that,” said Jensen.
Despite FIFA’s reasoning for the denial, Jensen also added that the team does not feel that the message is ‘political.’ “We are of the opinion that the message ‘Human Rights for All’ is universal and is not a political call, but it should be something that all people can support,” Jensen claimed.
Not the first Denmark shirts to support human rights
The team’s shirt manufacturer, Hummel, previously announced that they would produce World Cup jerseys that featured a subdued logo. Hummel stated that they wanted to make a monochromatic look to help make their logo less visible.
“We don’t wish to be visible during a tournament that has cost thousands of people their lives,” the company previously proclaimed.
Hummel also mentioned its goal of bringing people together, as is the aim of the World Cup as a tournament.
“We support the Danish national team all the way, but that isn’t the same as supporting Qatar as a host nation. We believe that sport should bring people together. And when it doesn’t, we want to make a statement.”
Denmark is also one of the participating World Cup teams that will wear the OneLove armband. Captain Simon Kjær will proudly don the armband throughout the competition. Ten World Cup team captains have agreed to wear the armband which promotes diversity and inclusion.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Sven Simon
