Soccer Football – Euro 2020 – England Press Conference – London Marriott Maida Vale, London, Britain – June 28, 2021 England’s Harry Kane during the press conference UEFA/Handout via REUTERS
England striker Harry Kane will join Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in wearing a rainbow captain’s armband to show solidarity with the LGBTQ communities in their last-16 game at the European Championship, the team said.
Neuer wore the armband in all of Germany’s group games in honour of Pride Month.
European soccer’s governing body UEFA had investigated whether Neuer’s armband breached its rules regarding on-field political statements, but later halted the probe after it deemed it a symbol for diversity and thus promoting “a good cause”.
England said on Twitter that Kane would wear the armband for the match at Wembley later on Tuesday, as the team “stand in allyship with LGBTQ+ communities around the world”.
Last week, UEFA refused a request from Munich’s mayor for the Allianz Stadium to be lit in rainbow colours for Germany’s final group match against Hungary in protest at an anti-LGBTQ law in Hungary.
Mayor Dieter Reiter wanted to highlight legislation in Hungary banning school materials deemed to promote homosexuality and gender change and restricting the media from showing such content in programmes accessible to minors.
—Reuters
