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Fifa seek explanation over VAR official's hand gesture
Video assistant referee Shaun Evans says an 'OK' sign hand gesture was "an involuntary, subconscious twitch" after he was cleared by a Fifa investigation.
Evans said that he was "unaware" of making the hand movement and denied "intentionally" attempting to "communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind".
The Australian could be seen making the fingers of his right hand into a upside down 'OK' sign when Fifa cut to a shot of the VAR team at the referee hub in Dallas before Germany's 7-1 win over Curacao on Sunday.
Such a gesture has two very distinct meanings – one harmless and the other connected to an expression of white supremacy.
World governing body Fifa said after looking into the matter that it found "no evidence of breaches of the Fifa Disciplinary Code".
The incident was immediately subject to a huge amount of speculation on social media.
"The coverage following this incident simply does not reflect who I am," Evans said in a statement issued by Fifa.
"Of course, I understand how the gesture has been interpreted and I regret this, however I want to be very clear and categorically say that I did not knowingly or deliberately make the hand symbol suggested."
Evans is available for selection for the rest of the tournament.
Fifa issued a short statement to confirm an investigation had been carried out but that the official would face no action.
The 38-year-old Evans went on to explain that video evidence from the VAR room proved that he had made involuntary movements.
"Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers," he said.
"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."
The Professional Football Referees' Association (PFRA) in Australia said it welcomed the outcome of Fifa's review.
"Shaun has consistently represented the values expected of football officials: professionalism, respect and integrity," a statement read.
"We acknowledge Shaun's public statement, in which he addressed the matter directly, and we recognise the importance of fairness, context and due process when concerns are raised.
"The PFRA acknowledges the outcome of Fifa's review and supports Shaun as a member of the Australian refereeing community."
Before matches during the World Cup, Fifa has been briefly focusing on the officials as part of its world feed global coverage.
First, the referee, and the rest of his team, have walked to the touchline and a graphic has been displayed with their names and roles.
Then the picture has cut to a shot of the VAR team at the referee hub in Dallas.
Rather than showing them at work and looking at their monitors, they have also briefly posed for the camera and their names have appeared on screen.
When the camera cut to the VAR room on Sunday, Evans was standing with his arm by his side – and then could be seen making the fingers of his right hand into a upside down 'OK' sign.
There was a noticeable change in approach for pre-match rituals after the Germany-Curacao game.
When the VAR hub was shown in subsequent matches, the officials were already facing the monitors. No longer did we see them looking at the camera, although their names were still displayed.
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The gesture made by Evans is very similar to the one used in the circle game, a prank which came to prominence in the US sitcom Malcolm in the Middle which became an internet meme.
An upside-down OK signal is made with the hand below the waist.
If another person looks at the hand they get a punch in the shoulder.
But, in 2017, the OK sign also began to be used by the far right to communicate to each other.
The sign was added to a list of hate symbols by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in 2019.
The ADL says 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".
The anti-discrimination Fare network, which partners with Fifa and Uefa to tackle racism, had called for Fifa to act prior to Monday evening's statements.
"Advice from our experts is that the gesture used clearly resembles an upside down 'OK' hand symbol used as a 'white power' symbol in global far-right circles," Fare said.
BBC Sport understands anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out has written to Fifa seeking clarification about the gesture.
The 38-year-old Evans has been on the Fifa list of referees since 2017. He is an experienced VAR who was also appointed to officiate at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In his homeland, Evans has been a referee in the Australian A League since 2012 and took charge of the Grand Final in 2019.
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Australian referee Shaun Evans makes a hand gesture while being introduced on TV
None of the VAR teams posed for the camera for the any of the three games after the gesture, looking at the monitors in front of them instead.
The same process then continued for Monday's fixtures.
Fifa has provided no explanation for the change.
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