England captain Harry Kane was seen wearing the FIFA-approved no-discrimination armband instead of the OneLove rainbow armband in support of the LGBTQ+ community.

Kane, along with the captains of six other European countries, decided to ditch the OneLove armband over threats from FIFA. 

“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.

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“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,” the statement read.

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The ‘No Discrimination’ message, which was originally scheduled to be worn by teams in the quarter-finals, would now be worn in the first group games instead.

Earlier, seven European nations, including England and Wales, had signed up for the One Love campaign. However, they decided to take a U-turn due to fear of a yellow card being issued.