sports
FIFA: 'No evidence' of racist gesture by VAR asst....
Key takeaways
- FIFA said Monday it found no evidence that VAR official Shaun Evans intentionally made a racist hand gesture ahead of Sunday's FIFA World Cup game between Germany and Curaçao.
- Evans also adamantly denied that the gesture had any racist connotation or that he had made it intentionally.
- "I would like to clarify that I did not intentionally make a hand gesture or symbol to communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind," Evans said in a statement.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
FIFA said Monday it found no evidence that VAR official Shaun Evans intentionally made a racist hand gesture ahead of Sunday's FIFA World Cup game between Germany and Curaçao.
When the official broadcast of Germany's opening game against Curaçao cut pregame to show the team of video review analysts, Evans, who is from Australia, made an "OK" symbol with his right hand in front of his right leg.
The gesture -- with thumb and forefinger touched in a circle and other fingers outstretched -- has been associated with white supremacy, and in 2019, it was designated a hate symbol by the New York-based Anti-Defamation League.
Article preview — originally published by ESPN. Full story at the source.
Read full story on ESPN →
More top stories
Aggregated and edited by the Scoop newsroom. We surface news from ESPN alongside other reporting so you can compare coverage in one place.
Editorial policy · Corrections · About Scoop