An Australian referee has denied accusations from an anti-discrimination group working with FIFA accusing him of making a “white power” hand gesture before the start of a World Cup match.
The referee, Shaun Evans, made the gesture when cameras cut to the officiating room in Dallas just before kickoff at Sunday’s match between Germany and and Curaçao in Houston. Evans was working in the booth as a video assistant referee, or VAR, for the match, and made the gesture with his right hand by his hip as the VAR crew was introduced.
“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,” Evans said in a statement to news outlets, calling the movement an “involuntary, subconscious twitch.” He added that he had also the gesture repeated many times while holding a pen between his fingers.
While Evans said that he regrets how the gesture has been interpreted, he underscored that he did not “knowingly or deliberately” make it.
Evans continued: “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.”