Dhe Danish national football team wants to send a signal against the exploitation of workers and human rights violations at the World Cup in Qatar by wearing all black jerseys. “This is another way to show that we don’t approve of some things about hosting the World Cup in Qatar,” Jakob Jensen, chief executive of the Danish Football Association DBU, told TV2.
The shirt is “one of many” critical signs of the Danish selection with a view to the situation in the desert state, the official emphasized. Like the German selection, Denmark will appear in Qatar with the “One Love” captain’s armband.
The outfitter of the Danish national soccer team wants to send “a double message” with the World Cup jerseys. “They are not only inspired by Euro 92, a tribute to Denmark’s greatest success in football. They are also a protest against Qatar and its human rights record,” the Hummel company wrote on Instagram alongside pictures of the all-red, white, or black jerseys. The symbols of the supplier and the Danish Football Association DBU are printed on the shirts, but they do not stand out in color and can therefore only be recognized at second glance on the very simple shirts. “The color of mourning” was deliberately chosen for the black jersey because it fits “perfectly” to the occasion.
“We don’t want to be visible during this tournament that has claimed the lives of thousands of people. We fully support the Danish national team, but that is not the same as supporting Qatar as the host country,” argued the Danish sporting goods manufacturer. With this action, they want to make a “statement” on the human rights situation in Qatar and the treatment of migrant workers who built the country’s World Cup stadiums, which has also been heavily criticized. Bumblebee ended his Instagram post with the hashtag #HistoryIsWhatWeDoNow (History Is What We Do Now).
The World Cup jerseys are proving to be a bestseller: on the day of publication, more of them were sold than ever before in the history of the 1992 European champion. The supplier donates part of the proceeds to the human rights organization Amnesty International. EM semi-finalist Denmark contests its World Cup preliminary round matches in group D. World champions France, Tunisia and Australia are the opponents there.
