FIFA has been urged to suspend an Australian video assistant referee after the official was accused of making a hand symbol used by white supremacists before Germany’s 7-1 win against Curacao on Monday morning.
In a pre-recorded video of the team of match officials in the VAR room, Shaun Evans was shown making an “OK” symbol by curling his thumb and forefinger downwards in front of his right leg. In 2019, the gesture was designated a hate symbol by the New York-based Anti‑Defamation League (ADL).
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Evans was accused of making the racist symbol by social media users who spotted it, while others thought he may have been playing a schoolyard “gotcha” prank where he would get to punch someone on the arm because they looked at the symbol. The joke was popularised by the TV show ‘Malcolm in the Middle’.
In a staggering twist on Tuesday, Evans has broken silence to claim that neither explanation is true — and that he was rather suffering an “involuntary twitch”.
In a statement, he said: “I would like to clarify that I did not intentionally make a hand gesture or symbol to communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind.
“The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch and I was unaware I had done it at the time.
“Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers.
“The coverage following this incident simply does not reflect who I am. 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.
“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.”
FIFA has also responded, saying that after an investigation, Evans was found to have not done anything wrong.
“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 governing body said in a statement.
Anti-discrimination group Fare accused Evans, who is working at his second World Cup, of doing the offending ‘OK’ symbol and have called for him to be removed from the tournament.
The organisation, which was formerly named Football against Racism, are partners with FIFA and UEFA and send observers to World Cup matches to monitor for any racist or discriminatory incidents.
In yesterday’s later games, broadcasters opted not to show footage of the VAR officials.
“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 in a statement.
“Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup.
“Why is a VAR supervisor using this symbol at a global football event at the very moment he knows the cameras are on him? We note that in the two subsequent games it appears TV directors have stopped introducing the VAR panel to the TV audience.”
Evans’ use of the symbol has created headlines around the world with news outlets including The Guardian, the Washington Post, the New York Times and the BBC all reporting on the alleged “white power” gesture.
The symbol started being used as a signal for white supremacy a decade ago as it was picked up by users of far-right online message board 4chan.
In 2019 when the sign was designated as a hate symbol. Oren Segal, director of the ADL’s Centre on Extremism, said context was important when interpreting whether an “OK” symbol was hateful or harmless.
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“There is enough of a volume of use for hateful purposes that we felt it was important to add,” he said.
Evans’ use of it has created a storm around the world, with watchers split on the intended meaning. In Australia, many identified with the prank aspect, but abroad is has caused a major stir.
FIFA and Football Australia did not respond to requests for comment.