A large-scale counter-movement has started after FIFA’s “One Love” ban – the DFB is even considering legal action.

The DFB does not want to admit defeat in the “One Love” dispute with FIFA and has its sights set on the next stage of escalation. The German Football Association is considering legal action against the world governing body so that captain Manuel Neuer can wear the controversial armband after all in Wednesday’s match against Japan (14.00 ARD/MagentaTV).

“FIFA has forbidden us a sign for diversity and human rights. It has combined this with massive threats of sporting sanctions without specifying them,” said DFB spokesman Steffen Simon when asked by SID. According to Bild, the DFB could take the matter to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). According to the report, the possibility of a so-called application for provisional legal protection at the ad hoc division of the CAS is being examined.

The CAS told the AFP news agency that it had “not received anything yet”. In principle, however, according to the statutes, the case should first end up at the FIFA Appeals Committee. There is no precedent for this type of dispute at CAS.

Hansi Flick, the national coach, also intervened in the debate on the eve of the opening match. The 57-year-old said he found it “a pity that one is no longer allowed to stand up for human rights”. He also said the players were “very, very unhappy and shocked that something like this is not feasible, because it is a sign for human rights and diversity”. The question of whether the team would send a different signal was left open by leading player Joshua Kimmich.

Before that, a new dynamic had already emerged. First Claudia Neumann flickered colourfully into the living rooms, then even the sponsors jumped to the side of the protest movement. After the World Cup ban on the “One Love” armband and the criticism of the DFB’s aborted uprising against FIFA, broad resistance had formed against the behaviour of the football associations.

Rewe was the first major sponsor to end its cooperation with the German Football Association (DFB) on Tuesday. “FIFA’s scandalous attitude is absolutely unacceptable to me as CEO of a diverse company and as a football fan,” said company boss Lionel Souque in a statement from the retail giant: “We stand up for diversity – and football is also diversity. We live this attitude and we defend this attitude – even against possible opposition.”

Rewe felt compelled to “distance itself in all clarity from FIFA’s stance and to waive its advertising rights from the contract with the DFB – especially in the context of the World Cup,” it continued.

At the same time, sporting goods giant adidas, as a FIFA and DFB partner, called for a liberal stance. “We are convinced that sport must be open to all,” adidas spokesman Oliver Brüggen told the SID: “We support our players and teams when they work for positive change. Sport provides a stage for important issues. It is essential to continue the discussion.”

The debate had previously also been fuelled by Claudia Neumann. Wearing a rainbow shirt plus a bandage, the ZDF commentator showed the backbone that critics had previously found lacking in the DFB and its allies. “I want to set an example for diversity and tolerance,” Neumann, who courageously sat on the reporters’ stand in her “diversity” uniform during the match between the USA and Wales (1-1), told the SID.

But Neumann was not the only one to push the discussion. TV stations like Pro7 showed the “One Love” symbol in their programmes. Other media representatives joined the protest worldwide. The topic was also omnipresent in the newspapers: “Love has lost, hate has won”, wrote the Times, “It’s shameful”, judged the Swiss Blick.

In addition, numerous politicians are exerting pressure. Left-wing and liberal members of the European Parliament, some of whom spoke with the “One Love” armband on their arms, spoke among other things of a “World Cup of shame” and demanded the resignation of FIFA boss Gianni Infantino.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken finds it “always worrisome when we see restrictions on freedom of expression”. Strong criticism of FIFA also came from Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (“very disconcerting”) and ex-national players Thomas Hitzlsperger (“In the end, it’s all about Infantino’s hold on power”) and Christoph Kramer (“FIFA is a mad club”).

For national player Leon Goretzka, who spoke to the newspapers of the Funke Mediengruppe, the FIFA ban is “incomprehensible”. Niclas Füllkrug condemned it as a “disappointing decision” in the Augsburger Allgemeine. Christian Günter from Freiburg stated in the Stuttgarter Zeitung and Stuttgarter Nachrichten that, like Faeser, he finds it “disconcerting”.