England’s Harry Kane wears a black armband that reads “No discrimination” during a World Cup against Iran on Monday in Doha, Qatar. Pavel Golovkin/Associated Press

DOHA, Qatar — FIFA’s threat of on-field punishment for players pushed World Cup teams to back down Monday and abandon a plan for their captains to wear armbands that were seen as a rebuke to host nation Qatar’s human rights record.

Just hours before the first players with the armbands in support of the “One Love” campaign were to take the field, soccer’s governing body warned they would immediately be shown yellow cards — two of which lead to a player’s expulsion from that game and also the next.

That changed the calculus for the seven European teams, which may have expected merely to be fined. The displays are a violation of FIFA rules.

No player had the “One Love” armbands Monday, although England’s Harry Kane wore the FIFA-approved “No Discrimination” armband that was offered as a compromise in the match with Iran.

It was the latest dispute that threatened to overshadow play on the field. Since being awarded the World Cup hosting rights in 2010, conservative Muslim Qatar has faced a raft of criticism, including its treatment of low-paid migrant workers and women and its suppression of free speech. It came under particular fire for its criminalization of homosexuality.

The decision came three days after beer sales at stadiums were suddenly banned under pressure from the Qatari government and two days after FIFA president Gianni Infantino delivered an extraordinary tirade defending the host nation’s human rights record.

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The captains of seven European nations had vowed to wear armbands carrying the heart-shaped, multicolored logo of the “One Love” campaign, which promotes inclusion and diversity in soccer and society. That set up the prospect of worldwide viewers seeing a symbol of disapproval with the host country and defiance of FIFA on the arms of Kane, the Netherlands’ Virgil van Dijk and Wales’ Gareth Bale on Monday.

But in the end, the teams said they couldn’t sacrifice success on the field.

“As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including bookings,” the seven soccer federations said in a joint statement, referring to the yellow cards.

The captains of Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark had also pledged to wear the armbands in the coming days.

“Our No. 1 priority at the World Cup is to win the games,” the Dutch soccer federation said in a separate statement. “Then you don’t want the captain to start the match with a yellow card.”

The risk of getting a second yellow, which would see a player sent off the field for the rest of the game and banned from the next, is particularly tricky in a tournament where teams play only three games before the knockout rounds begin.

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National soccer federations and fan associations lashed out at FIFA for its decision to penalize the players. Danish soccer federation CEO Jakob Jensen told Danish broadcaster TV2 that the organization was ”extremely disappointed with FIFA,” and German soccer federation president Bernd Neuendorf called it “another low blow.”

MONDAY’S GAMES

ENGLAND 6, IRAN 2: When Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford last walked off the field at a major international soccer tournament, they were bombarded with racist abuse.

Three goals for England in the team’s opening match at this year’s World Cup was their immediate riposte.

Saka scored two before giving way to Rashford, who added another in the second half of England’s rout of Iran in Doha, Qatar.

The jubilant scene at the Khalifa International Stadium was in contrast to the tears shed following England’s penalty shootout loss to Italy in last year’s European Championship final. Saka and Rashford both failed to convert from the spot and were targeted on social media.

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The win also provides encouragement for Coach Gareth Southgate, who has faced the most troubled period of his England tenure over the last year. In a difficult buildup to the tournament in Qatar, he was booed after a 4-0 loss to Hungary in June and was humiliated by his own fans when they chanted, “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

Hundreds of fans missed the start of Monday’s match because of an issue with digital tickets. When they eventually made their way to their seats, they witnessed an utterly dominant display from England.

NETHERLANDS 2, SENEGAL 0: Cody Gakpo and substitute Davy Klaasen scored late to give the Netherlands a victory over Senegal at the World Cup in Doha, Qatar.

Gakpo rose to glance in a cross by Frenkie de Jong in the 84th minute with the Dutch team’s first effort on target in the Group A game at Al Thumama Stadium. Klaasen added a second right at the end of eight minutes of stoppage time by slotting in after Edouard Mendy only weakly blocked a shot from Memphis Depay.

The orange-shirted Dutch fans had been subdued until the late strikes as the Senegalese drums and chants were the dominant sound from the stands for much of the game. But Senegal’s main problem was predictable: Without injured forward Sadio Mane, it couldn’t convert any of its chances.

That was also down to Netherlands goalkeeper Andries Noppert, who made three strong saves to deny the Senegalese in his first game for the national team.


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