New Delhi, June 16: FIFA has cleared Australian referee Shawn Evans of allegations of making a racist gesture ahead of the match between Germany and Curacao on Sunday.
Prior to the match, the video review team noticed Evans making an inverted ‘OK’ sign during a broadcast. This gesture has often been associated with white supremacy groups.
Shawn Evans, a 38-year-old experienced VAR, has been on FIFA’s referee list since 2017. He was also appointed as a referee during the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar.
In his statement regarding the allegations, Evans clarified that the gesture was made “unintentionally.” He stated, “I want to make it clear that I did not deliberately make any hand gesture or symbol that could convey a message, connection, or recognition.”
He added, “I can only say that this action was unintentional and subconscious. I was not even aware that I had done it at the time. Photos taken during and after the match revealed that I had repeated this gesture several times while holding a pen between my fingers.”
Evans further stated, “The coverage following this incident does not reflect my reality. Of course, I understand what this gesture was interpreted to mean, and I regret it. However, I want to clearly and emphatically state that I did not intentionally make the hand sign in question. Serving as a referee in the World Cup is the greatest honor of my career, and I am eager to support my colleagues for the remainder of the tournament.”
After investigating the matter, FIFA announced that there was “no evidence” of a breach of its disciplinary regulations based on Evans’ statements. The independent disciplinary committee confirmed that there was no evidence of a violation related to Evans.
The governing body stated, “The disciplinary committee has also taken Mr. Evans’ statement into account.”
It is noteworthy that the inverted ‘OK’ gesture is often used as a joke. It was popularized by the classic “circle game” and the sitcom ‘Malcolm in the Middle.’ However, since 2017, the ‘OK’ sign has also been used by far-right groups for communication.
In 2019, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) included this symbol in its list of hate symbols.
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