An Australian official has found himself at the center of a controversy involving a hand gesture associated with white supremacists. His representative body has expressed support for him, stating that he has consistently acted with “professionalism, respect, and integrity.”
Shaun Evans was spotted making an upside-down “OK” gesture when the broadcast switched to the VAR hub prior to Sunday’s match between Germany and Curacao.
The gesture has been linked to extremist groups, with the Anti-Defamation League classifying it as a hate symbol in 2019.
Evans claimed that the gesture was an “involuntary, subconscious twitch” that he did not perceive at the time. Following an inquiry, Fifa found no evidence of a violation of its disciplinary code.
The Professional Football Referees Association (PFRA) endorsed the findings of Fifa’s review and issued a statement to the Press Association: “Shaun has consistently upheld the expected values of football officials: professionalism, respect, and integrity.”
“The PFRA celebrates diversity within football and unequivocally opposes racism, discrimination, and extremist ideologies in all forms. We acknowledge Shaun’s public statement addressing the issue, and we recognize the significance of fairness, context, and due process when concerns arise.
Shaun Evans has received scrutiny regarding his hand gesture (Screenshot/YouTube)
“We support Shaun as a valued member of the Australian refereeing community and will not be providing further comments at this time.”
On Monday, Evans stated: “I want to clarify that I did not intentionally make any hand gesture or symbol to convey a message, affiliation, game, or belief of any kind. The only explanation I can give is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch, and I was unaware that I had done it at the time.
“Images later taken during the match showed that I repeated this movement several times while holding a pen between my fingers.”
Evans further expressed: “The coverage following this incident does not accurately represent who I am. While I understand how the gesture has been interpreted, I regret this situation. However, I want to explicitly state that I did not knowingly or deliberately make the hand symbol in question.
“Officiating at the World Cup is the greatest honor of my career, and I look forward to supporting my colleagues for the remainder of the tournament.”