FIFA HAS BEEN urged to remove one of its World Cup referees after he was broadcast making a gesture at the opening of a match that has been associated with white supremacy.
Australian Shaun Evans is a video assistant referee (VAR) at the tournament.
He was working at Germany’s game against Curaçao on Sunday, where Germany finished ahead, 7-1.
During the opening of the match, the broadcast cut to the room where the VAR team were working in the referee hub in Dallas. Briefly focusing on match officials before the game kicks off has made up part of the World Cup’s match coverage.
Evans was broadcast holding his pointer finger to his thumb in an upside-down ‘OK’ sign, with his other fingers outstretched. The gesture has been associated with white supremacy for a number of years, with sporting organisations recognising it as such.
In 2019, Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant made the gesture in court after he was charged the murder of dozens of worshippers at two New Zealand mosques.
— TB 🇧🇷 (@TottenhamBrasil) June 14, 2026O cidadão no VAR de Alemanha e Curaçao fez um gesto com as mãos que é associado a um símbolo de supremacia branca.
Que bizarrice. pic.twitter.com/dEePXDPeyd
In 2019, it was designated a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
The ADL is described as the “leading anti-hate organisation in the world”.
It said the symbol “became a popular trolling tactic on the part of right-leaning individuals, who would often post photos to social media of themselves posing while making the ‘okay’ gesture”.
The ADL urged caution in assessing the gesture, as it also can refer to a child’s game, where one person makes the gesture, and when someone notices it they are punched in the arm.
Fifa’s anti-racism partner, the Fare network, called on the sporting body to remove Evans from its World Cup VAR team.
“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 network said.
“Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup.”
Fifa has been contacted for comment.