Germany's Pregame Message For Qatar Is Going Viral

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Players of Germany's men's national team pose with their hands over their mouths before Wednesday

World Cup match against Japan in response to FIFA threats over "OneLove" armbands.

German players plan to wear bands symbolizing "diversity and tolerance"

But faced the threat of sanctions from football's governing body.

This morning Germany issued a statement on the matter;

Pushing FIFA back for trying to silence them and standing at their behest.

We wanted to use our captain's armband to take a stand for the values ​​we hold in the Germany national team:

Diversity and mutual respect. Together with other countries, we wanted our voices to be heard. ,

It was not about making a political statement – ​​human rights are non-negotiable.

It should be considered, but it is still not the case. That's why this message is so important to us.

Denying us the armband is tantamount to denying us a voice. We stand by our position.

The moment went viral in the sports world.

"Are you watching," tweeted Simon Kaiser in England.

One fan said, "This is phenomenal... I want Germany to win this World Cup...".

CBS' Ben Jacobs said, "'Depriving us of armbands is depriving us of a voice. We stand by our position. '"

"A sports governing body should be the forum from which sportspersons

And the teams are best positioned to share their stories and promote a truly global world view that is open to all.

Instead it is not the role of [organisations] to silence players and teams.

Human rights are non-negotiable."

Others have attempted to make similar statements regarding the controversy surrounding the human rights record of host country Qatar.