Australian referee Shaun Evans was part of the refereeing team for the World Cup match between Germany and Curaçao on Sunday, and appeared to be making hand signals in front of the cameras.
Shaun Evans is a match official at the World Cup (Image: Carmen Mandato – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
FIFA will launch an investigation after an official was accused of making gestures related to white supremacy during a World Cup match. Australian referee Shaun Evans acted as “support VAR” during Germany’s 7-1 win over Curacao in Group E on Sunday.
As is customary at World Cups, when the broadcast went off to match officials in the VAR room before kick-off, the 38-year-old appeared to put his right hand on his thigh and make an upside-down “OK” signal. This gesture has been associated with the “white power” movement.
Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant created the symbol when he appeared in court after being arrested for killing 50 people in the 2019 shootings at two mosques in New Zealand. That year, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) announced that the OK symbol had become a “popular trolling tactic” by “right-leaning individuals.”
However, this gesture is also associated with playground games. A person makes that symbol below his waist, and anyone who looks at it will be beaten.
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ADL also said that the “overwhelming use” of hand gestures is still done to show approval or to show that someone is okay. “We need to be especially careful not to jump to conclusions about the intentions behind the person using the gesture,” they added.
Nevertheless, it may be a “sincere expression of white supremacy.” In 2019, the BBC confirmed that the “OK” hand gesture had been added to its list of hate symbols.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, a man was disqualified for making the gesture during the women’s skateboarding final. The man was later identified as a contractor who appeared to be standing behind the athletes and giving hand signals twice during the event.
Mirror Football has contacted FIFA for comment and has extended Evans’ right to respond through soccer’s world governing body.
Evans started out as a part-time match official while working as a bricklayer. The Melbourne native started officiating in the Australian A-League in 2008 as an assistant referee and was promoted to referee four years later. In 2017, Evans was named to the FIFA International Referee List.
Fale, an anti-discrimination network aimed at tackling inequality in football, issued a statement on Sunday saying: “The advice from our experts is that the gesture used bears a clear resemblance to the upside-down ‘OK’ hand symbol used as a symbol of ‘white power’ in far-right circles around the world.”
“Why would a VAR director use this symbol at a global soccer event at the exact moment he knows the cameras are pointing at him? We can only assume that he is deliberately transmitting a far-right neo-Nazi symbol. We note that for the next two matches, the TV director appears to have stopped introducing the VAR panel to the TV audience.
“Television viewers around the world should not be exposed to extremist far-right figures using neo-Nazi symbols during match preparations. Clearly, this official should have no further role in this World Cup.”
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