The Australian official at the centre of a controversy over a hand gesture used by white supremacists has been backed by his representative body, who say he has consistently acted with “professionalism, respect and integrity”.
Shaun Evans was seen making an upside down ‘OK’ gesture when the broadcast feed cut to the VAR hub prior to Sunday’s match between Germany and Curacao.
The gesture has been associated with the far-right, with the Anti-Defamation League declaring it a hate symbol in 2019.
Evans insisted the gesture was “an involuntary, subconscious twitch” he was unaware of at the time. FIFA had sought answers from Evans, but found no evidence he had breached its disciplinary code.
The Professional Football Referees Association welcomed the outcome of that review by FIFA and added in a statement to the Press Association: “Shaun has consistently represented the values expected of football officials: professionalism, respect and integrity.
“The PFRA celebrates diversity across football and unequivocally rejects racism, discrimination and extremist ideology in all forms. We acknowledge Shaun’s public statement, in which he addressed the matter directly, and we recognise the importance of fairness, context and due process when concerns are raised.
“The PFRA acknowledges the outcome of FIFA’s review and supports Shaun as a member of the Australian refereeing community. The PFRA will not be making any further comment at this time.”
Evans said on Monday: “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.”
Evans added: “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.”
