Shaun Evans, the video assistant referee at the centre of controversy over a ‘white supremacy’ gesture has put it down to an ‘involuntary, subconscious twitch.’
Ahead of Germany’s 7-1 win over Curacao in Houston on Sunday, the VAR officials were shown and Evans clearly made a symbol with his right hand.
The Australian made a circle with his thumb and forefinger, with his other three fingers extended, below his waist.
The symbol would be recognised as ‘okay’ if held upwards rather than fingers pointing down, while others would see it as part of a playground prank game.
It’s finally here
Get everything you need to know about the World Cup – England updates, the games to watch and stories you missed – in five minutes, at 1pm, every day. Sign up here.
However, anti-discrimination network Fare (Football Against Racism in Europe) say when used upside down, the gesture has links to ‘global far-right circles’ as a ‘white power symbol’.
In 2019, Australian Brenton Tarrant made the symbol in court following his arrest for murdering 50 people in a mosque shooting in New Zealand.
Explaining why he made the gesture, Evans said in a statement: ‘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.
‘The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch and I was unaware I had done it at the time.
‘Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers.
‘The coverage following this incident simply does not reflect who I am. Of course, I understand how the gesture has been interpreted and I regret this, however I want to be very clear and categorically say that I did not knowingly or deliberately make the hand symbol suggested.
‘Officiating at the World Cup is the biggest honour of my career and I look forward to supporting my colleagues for the rest of the tournament.’
FIFA have responded, insisting that Evans has done nothing wrong, saying in a statement: ‘FIFA’s independent disciplinary committee can confirm that, after looking into the matter involving support video assistant referee Shaun Evans, it has found no evidence of breaches of the Fifa disciplinary code.
‘The disciplinary committee has also taken note of Mr Evans’ statement.’
Fare have made it clear that they disagree, calling for Evans to be removed from officiating duties at the World Cup.
‘Advice from our experts is that the gesture used clearly resembles an upside-down “OK” hand symbol used as a “white power” symbol in global far-right circles,’ the Fare network said in a statement.
‘Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup.
‘Why is a VAR supervisor using this symbol at a global football event at the very moment he knows the cameras are on him? We note that in the two subsequent games it appears TV directors have stopped introducing the VAR panel to the audience.’