This World Cup is unifying the Arab world – spurred by results on the pitch in Qatar.
Morocco has become the first Muslim nation ever to reach the quarter-finals, and it is the first time that football’s biggest event has come to the region.
It is a platform some officials in Qatar wanted to use to raise awareness of discrimination faced by Muslim people.
Designs have been obtained by Sky News for armbands that featured the words “No place for Islamophobia” and featuring a Palestinian headscarf pattern.
Officials in the World Cup host nation talked about a plan for captains to wear them with other countries including Saudi Arabia and Morocco, it is understood.
A senior Qatari official told Sky News: “Prior to the start of the tournament, Qatar, and some of the other Muslim-majority teams, were in advanced discussions regarding whether the players could wear armbands raising awareness for the growing movement of Islamophobia.
“When the armband proposal was eventually discussed with FIFA, they were told that it violated FIFA’s rules and would not be allowed.
“The teams accepted the decision but were disappointed that an important issue such as this, which negatively impacts the millions of Muslims around the world, was not being given a platform during the first World Cup to be hosted in a Muslim-majority region.”
FIFA said it was not aware of any proposal and made no one available for interview.
A dispute over other armbands dominated the build-up to the World Cup opening last month.
FIFA threatened punishments if England and Wales joined other Europeans wearing garments featuring “One Love” – to subtly draw attention to Qatar’s anti-LGBT laws.
FIFA instead proposed a range of slogans like “No to Discrimination” and vague messages like “Bring the Moves”.
Not having the “No place for Islamophobia” armband was a missed opportunity for this World Cup, one man told us.
“I think it’s something very nice, because what people think about Islam is pretty bad around the world,” said Yusef, a pilot from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. “So it’s actually something nice that people actually change their thoughts and… it was a perfect idea.”
The One Love armband that European nations wanted to wear
But Yazeed, another Muslim fan, thought FIFA was right to deny teams the right to pick slogans for armbands.
“This is the best way to keep everything just focused on the whole sport,” he said.
“Despite the differences going around in the world, you’re just having a good time watching the match.
“So if there were any distractions, the whole purpose of the World Cup would be kind of misguided.
“You’re there for the games, you’re there for the atmosphere. Leave the politics outside the game.”
