German minister wears OneLove armband next to Fifa president despite ban

Germany's interior minister wore an anti-discrimination armband as she sat beside Fifa's president to watch her country's first World Cup game in Doha.

Nancy Faeser was pictured with the OneLove armband inside the Khalifa Stadium on Wednesday, after Germany had decided not to let their captain wear it after football’s governing body threatened the team with sporting sanctions.

Faeser wore the band sitting next to Fifa's president Gianni Infantino in the VIP box as Germany lost 2-1 to Japan in a surprise defeat.

Germany's players had earlier covered their mouths for their team photograph before the game in protest at being blocked from wearing the anti-discrimination symbol.

The wearing of the armband is part of a year-long campaign to promote inclusivity and LGBTQ+ rights.

While the armbands do not directly reference Qatar's controversial anti-LGBTQ+ laws, they are seen as a strong symbol in a World Cup that was highly criticised before a ball was even kicked in its opening game on Sunday.

Read more: Danish TV presenter ordered to take off OneLove armband

Several European nations, including Germany, England and Wales, dropped plans to wear the OneLove armband after Fifa raised the threat of sporting sanctions, starting with yellow cards being shown to the captains wearing them.

Article 11 of FIFA's disciplinary code, which covers "offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play" says that anyone "using a sports event for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature" may be subject to disciplinary measures.

Watch: England team should have worn OneLove armband, Roy Keane says

The German football federation, the DFB, said in a tweet on its official account: "We wanted to use our captain's armband to take a stand for values that we hold in the Germany national team: diversity and mutual respect.

"Together with other nations, we wanted our voice to be heard."

The English Football Association (FA) has declined to comment on whether it will follow Germany's lead and make the covered mouth gesture before England's next match against the USA on Friday.

Read more: How can I watch England's World Cup group games?

England were hours from kick-off in their opening match against Iran when plans to wear the rainbow-coloured armband were abandoned.

Danish FA chief executive Jakob Jensen said his organisation was now exploring the legal options open to them, but at this stage it cannot go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport without exhausting other options first.

Lawyers are understood to be looking at the regulations to examine the sanctions the associations were threatened with.