The world football association FIFA justified the ban on the "One Love" captain's armband with the World Cup regulations recognized by all participants.

In a statement, the association explicitly emphasized Article 13.8.1 of the Equipment Rules: "For FIFA finals, the captain of each team must wear an armband provided by FIFA." FIFA supports campaigns like 'One Love', but this must be done within the framework of the rules known to all.

The associations from Germany, Denmark, England, Wales, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands had previously announced that their captains would not wear the "One Love" armband as planned. The reason given for this step was FIFA's threat that the players concerned would receive a yellow card. Fines, as is usually the case with such offenses, would have been accepted.

As a result, the team captains could now wear armbands provided by the world governing body. These should spread a different anti-discrimination message on each match day. The motto of the first matchday is "Football unites the world".