Alex Scott wears the OneLove armband during England’s build-up

Ex England International Alex Scott has been hailed as a ‘legend’ after being spotted in support of LGBTQ+ people when she wore a OneLove armband while reporting from the pitch during England’s World Cup opener against Iran. . It happened just a few hours after England Walesand other European countries have confirmed that they will no longer wear the armband.

Scott, capped 140 times for England, was criticized QatarHuman rights and the treatment of LGBTQ+ people in the run-up to the World Cup.

“Alex Scott, you are a legend,” football journalist Ali Tweedale tweeted.

“I cried when I saw it. So much respect,” said one man watching the report.

“FIFA may have banned England from wearing the Pride armband on the pitch at the World Cup, but England pundit Alex Scott is wearing it on the touchline while broadcasting for the Nation. Positivity 1 Dystopia 0,” tweeted podcaster Roger Bennett.

In a joint statement with the Football Association of Wales and other European football associations, the English Football Association said: “FIFA has made it very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear armbands on the pitch. As national associations, we can We do not put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including cautions, so we have asked captains not to try to wear armbands at FIFA World Cup games,” the FAs said in a joint statement. , Wales, Belgium. Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland read.

“We are very disappointed by FIFA’s decision, which we believe is unprecedented – we wrote to FIFA in September informing them of our desire to wear the One Love armband to actively support inclusion in football and have not received a response.”

In preparation for England’s Group B opener, the program was presented by host Gary Lineker, with experts Alan Shearer, Rio Ferdinand and Micah Richards in the studio. The spotlight then shifted to Kelly Somers and Scott, where she could be seen wearing a headband.

The decision by the authorities to order teams not to wear the armband would have disappointed England captain Harry Kane, who was keen to wear it. Before the decision, he said: “We’ve made it clear as a team, staff and organization that we want to wear the armband. I know the FA are talking to FIFA now and I’m sure they’ll make their decision before tomorrow’s game. I think we made it clear that we want to wear it.”

Former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale had also planned to wear the OneLove armband when his Wales team played in their first World Cup in 64 years. When they take the field against the United States, he won’t be wearing it.