2026 World Cup VAR Shaun Evans accused of white supremacist gesture during Germany 7-1 Curaçao | OneFootball

2026 World Cup VAR Shaun Evans is under scrutiny after being accused of making a white supremacist hand gesture during Germany’s 7-1 win over Curaçao on Sunday. FIFA has acknowledged the incident.

BBC reports that the governing body is seeking answers from the Australian official, who appeared to make the sign when the broadcast cut to the VAR studio. A FIFA spokesperson told The Athletic the organisation was aware and offered no further comment.

The gesture, with thumb and index finger touching and the other fingers extended, is commonly read as an OK sign. It has also been co-opted by white supremacist groups, with the three fingers taken to form a W for White and the loop a P for Power.

The anti-discrimination network Fare said its experts consider the movement to clearly resemble an inverted OK hand sign associated with white power in international far-right circles. It questioned why a VAR supervisor would use it while on camera, arguing this could only be an intentional transmission of a neo-Nazi far-right symbol.

In 2023 FIFA described Fare as a close partner in its anti-discrimination work, including a monitoring system designed to identify discriminatory incidents at its competitions.

Source: L'Équipe