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New Delhi: Controversy has erupted after referee Sean Evans was accused of making a hand gesture associated with white supremacist groups during Germany’s match against Krakow in Houston at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The moment came when the television broadcast switched to the video assistant referee (VAR) room, critics claim Evans made an inverted ‘OK’ sign.The gesture has been at the center of previous controversies and has been linked to far-right groups. According to reports, the same symbol was displayed by Brenton Tarrant during his court appearance following the 2019 New Zealand mosque attacks in which 50 people were killed. The BBC has also listed the upside down ‘OK’ sign as one of the recognized symbols of hate.See:Anti-discrimination organization Fair Network has urged FIFA to remove Evans from the panel responsible for the World Cup. In a strongly worded statement, the organization said, “Advice from our experts is that the gesture used clearly resembles an inverted ‘OK’ hand sign used as a symbol of ‘white power’ in global far-right circles.” “Why would a VAR supervisor use this symbol at a global football event when he knows there are cameras on it? It can only be that he is deliberately transferring a far-right neo-Nazi symbol,” he added.“We note that in the two subsequent games the TV directors appear to have stopped introducing the VAR panel to the TV audience. Global television viewers should not be subjected to extremist far-right figures using neo-Nazi symbols as they prepare to watch the match. Clearly this official should have no further role in this World Cup.”FIFA has yet to issue a response to the allegations.
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