A World Cup referee Shaun Evans from Australia has risked controversy over a hand gesture caught on camera which could be interpreted as racist, The Telegraph reports.
Inquiries have been launched by FIFA into whether Evans, an Australian A-League referee, appeared to carry out a hand signal described as “an expression of white supremacy”.
Evans was in the VAR booth providing screen assistance for Germany’s fixture against Curaçao when footage showed him staring at the camera while performing the apparent signal.
Investigations appear likely into why he appeared to do the “OK” hand sign upside down.
The hand shape appeared similar to the case surrounding a Paris 2024 official who had his accreditation revoked for appearing to make the gesture during a skateboarding final.
In that incident, the man in question, who was wearing Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) kit but was later identified as a subcontractor, was standing behind athletes and coaches when he was twice seen making the signal.
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The finger-and-thumb gesture – which is also a popular emoji – is generally used to show approval or that someone is all right. However, its use as a far-Right symbol is on the rise.
The BBC reported in 2019 how the “OK” hand sign had been added to a list of hate symbols.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) admitted, however, that the “overwhelming usage” of the hand gesture today is still to show approval or that someone is all right.
Therefore “particular care must be taken not to jump to conclusions about the intent behind someone who has used the gesture”, the group said. The ADL said the “OK” symbol has become a “popular trolling tactic” from “Right-leaning individuals, who often post photos to social media of themselves posing while making the gesture”.
It started out as an online joke on 4Chan – taking an innocent gesture and pretending there was a hidden meaning behind it. The World Cup footage in question was screened live before Germany began their World Cup campaign with a thumping 7-1 victory over debutants Curaçao.
