London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, May 29, 2026

FIFA allow rainbow hats and flags at Qatar World Cup stadium in U-turn

FIFA allow rainbow hats and flags at Qatar World Cup stadium in U-turn

The Football Association of Wales said venues in Qatar had been contacted and instructed to follow the agreed rules and regulations, including the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayman where The Dragons will face Iran for their second Group B match today.

FIFA has confirmed fans will be allowed to wear rainbow bucket hats and take rainbow flags into the stadium for Wales' match against Iran - after they were confiscated ahead of the side's 1-1 draw with the USA earlier this week.

The Football Association of Wales said venues in Qatar had been contacted and instructed to follow the agreed rules and regulations, including the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayman where The Dragons will face Iran for their second Group B match at 10am (UK time).

In a statement it added: "The FAW urges FIFA to adhere to their message that everybody will be welcome in Qatar during the World Cup and continue to highlight any further human rights issues.

"We remain with the belief that football is for everyone".




The agreement, specifically between FIFA and the FAW only - comes after the first week of the tournament has been marred by the governing body's handling of LGBTQ+ symbols.

FIFA has threatened to book team captains who wear a pro-inclusivity OneLove armband.

All eyes will be on the players of Wales and England to see if they follow Germany's lead and make a stand pre-match.

Germany's players covered their mouths during a team photo ahead of their 2-1 defeat against Japan to show "FIFA is silencing us" by shutting down attempts to wear rainbow-coloured OneLove armbands.

England boss Gareth Southgate has not ruled out his team making a gesture ahead of their game with the US to highlight human rights concerns, but said they will not be pressured into doing so.

That match kicks-off at 7pm at the Al Bayt stadium in Al Khor.

Seven European nations competing at the World Cup - including Germany, England and Wales - planned to wear OneLove anti-discrimination armbands during the tournament, but were dissuaded from doing so following the threat of sporting sanctions from FIFA.

Southgate said: "I think we've got to be comfortable that we know what we stand for.

"That's not to say we won't do anything moving forward if the timing's right, but I think we are rushing to be seen to be doing something, we could make an error that doesn't land well."

Rainbow bucket hats and flags should never have been confiscated from football fans in the first place, FAW chief executive Neil Mooney said.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, he said the FAW were "appalled" to hear rainbow bucket hats were being taken from supporters and staff in Qatar.

He said the FAW wrote to FIFA and pointed out that they were "promised an open and inclusive World Cup".

"Thankfully they've come back just in the last couple of hours, in writing to say that our fans can wear rainbow related clothing tomorrow, including bucket hats," he said.

"We're glad the fans can do that. It should never have been the case that they were confiscated in the first place.

"We have it in writing from FIFA that they're okay to wear whatever they wish."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
European Union and China Head Toward Major Trade Conflict Over Clean Technology Exports
United States Economic Growth Severely Downgraded to One Point Six Percent as Stagflation Fears Mount
World Health Organization Warns Central African Ebola Epidemic is Outpacing Containment Efforts
United States Treasury Department Conditions Sanctions Relief on Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Air Defenses Intercept and Destroy United States Military Drone Over Bushehr Province
Iranian Armed Forces Launch Ballistic Missiles Toward Unspecified Targets Prompting Regional Condemnation
United Nations Secretary-General Warns Global Order Facing Highest Level of Conflict Since 1945
Israel Issues Sweeping Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon Amid Intensified Hezbollah Conflict
Russia Announces Systemic Military Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Defense and Energy Infrastructure
United States and Iranian Negotiators Reach Draft Agreement to Extend Ceasefire and Resume Nuclear Talks
United Nations Security Council Deeply Divided Over United States Capture of Venezuelan President
US and Iran Exchange Direct Military Strikes Amid Fragile Gulf Ceasefire
World Health Organization Warns of Catastrophic Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo
Russia Threatens New Wave of Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Embassies
Scientists Warn Atlantic Ocean Currents Could Collapse Faster Than Projected
Anthropic Reaches $900 Billion Valuation in Historic AI Funding Round
Washington Imposes Crippling Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Authority
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
×