FIFA finds ‘no evidence’ of breach of code in referee’s controversial hand gesture

FIFA said Monday that it found no proof of a breach of code after Video Assistant Referee (VAR) official Shaun Evans made a gesture before a World Cup match.

“FIFA’s independent Disciplinary Committee can confirm that, after looking into the matter involving support video assistant referee Shaun Evans, it has found no evidence of breaches of the FIFA Disciplinary Code,” the organization said.

Evans, an Australian official, was seen during Sunday’s broadcast of the Germany-Curacao match making an “OK” hand symbol, a gesture associated with white supremacy and designated a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League in 2019.

Evans categorically denied any malicious intent, characterizing the movement as an “involuntary, subconscious twitch.”

He expressed regret for how the optics were interpreted but maintained that he did not “knowingly or deliberately” make the symbol, which gained notoriety after its use by the 2019 Christchurch mosque shooter, a white supremacist who killed 51 Muslim worshippers.