Overview
- The gesture was filmed during the pre-match broadcast of the Germany vs. Curaçao game on Sunday when cameras briefly showed the VAR room in Dallas and Australian official Shaun Evans formed an inverted 'OK' sign near his leg.
- Fare Network, FIFA’s long-standing anti-discrimination monitoring partner, publicly said the hand sign resembled a ‘white power’ symbol and called for Evans to be removed from the tournament.
- FIFA opened an inquiry and the independent Disciplinary Committee reviewed audiovisual records and statements before announcing it found no evidence of a breach and closing the case.
- Evans denied any deliberate political message and described the movement as involuntary or a habitual tic, and broadcasters adjusted how they show VAR panels while the review was under way.
- The inverted 'OK' has both benign uses and a 2019 Anti-Defamation League listing as a hate symbol after extremist appropriation, so the episode has raised broader questions about context, intent and live broadcast practices at the tournament.