FIFA release statement as World Cup official accused of white supremacy gesture

FIFA has cleared a VAR official after he was filmed appearing to make a hand gesture associated with white supremacy during the broadcast of Germany's opening World Cup game against Curaçao on Sunday.

Shaun Evans has been cleared of breaking FIFA's disciplinary code (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Shaun Evans, an Australian video review analyst working at the World Cup's broadcast centre in Dallas, was caught on the official match feed making an "OK" symbol, thumb and forefinger touching in a circle with the remaining fingers outstretched, in front of his right leg during pregame coverage.

The gesture has been designated a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League since 2019, after being appropriated by white supremacists, and its appearance on one of the world's biggest sporting stages immediately sparked widespread backlash online.

FIFA moved quickly to investigate, and on Monday its independent Disciplinary Committee announced it had found no evidence of any breach of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

"FIFA's independent Disciplinary Committee can confirm that, after looking into the matter involving support video assistant referee Shaun Evans, it has found no evidence of breaches of the FIFA Disciplinary Code," the governing body said in a statement.

Evans himself issued an emphatic denial, insisting the gesture was entirely unintentional.

"I would like to clarify that I did not intentionally make a hand gesture or symbol to communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind," he said. "The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch and I was unaware I had done it at the time. Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers."

FIFA said it had taken Evans' statement into account when reaching its decision.

The White Power hand signal has long been associated with the far right (Photo by Omer Messinger/Getty Images)

The history behind the 'white power' gesture

The "OK" sign's association with hate did not begin organically. It was deliberately appropriated around a decade ago as a white supremacy signal, originating as a hoax on the far-right online message board 4chan before spreading into mainstream consciousness.

The gesture gained global attention in March 2019 when it was made during the first court appearance of the white supremacist responsible for the Christchurch mosque attacks in New Zealand, in which 51 Muslim worshippers were killed.

Later that year, the ADL formally designated it a hate symbol, though its director of the Centre on Extremism, Oren Segal, was careful to note that context remains essential to interpreting any individual use of it.

Evans acknowledged the weight of that context in his statement, expressing regret while maintaining his innocence.

"Of course, I understand how the gesture has been interpreted and I regret this, however I want to be very clear and categorically say that I did not knowingly or deliberately make the hand symbol suggested," he said. "

Officiating at the World Cup is the biggest honour of my career and I look forward to supporting my colleagues for the rest of the tournament."

Evans is one of 30 video review analysts appointed by FIFA for the tournament, which is being co-hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.