Hugo Lloris, the captain of France, has declared that he will not wear an anti-discrimination armband during the World Cup in Qatar, as have other European national team captains. Lloris had previously resisted being asked if he would support the season-long OneLove campaign to encourage inclusion, which is symbolized by an armband with a multicolored heart. Lloris told AFP in an interview, "I have been quite open about this, and I don't want to add anything else."
In the lead-up to the tournament, Qatar, the host country, has come under fire for its treatment of migrant workers, women, and the LGBTQ community. He claimed he wanted to "show respect" to the country by participating.
"I will do the same when I go to Qatar," he said. "When we welcome foreign tourists to France, we often ask them to follow our rules and respect our traditions."
He said again that Noel Le Graet, the head of the French Football Federation, was against the plan.
Raphael Varane, a defender for Manchester United, wore the colorful armband against Denmark in the UEFA Nations League in September since Lloris was out injured. Varane referred to it at the time as "an honor."
When the plan was announced in September, Lloris and Harry Kane of England were among the ten captains of European countries who were supposed to wear the armband in Qatar, where being gay is illegal.
FIFA, the organization that oversees world football, has chosen not to support the plan.
Lloris did not specify how much money would be given to human rights organizations, but the France team did declare on Tuesday that they intend to do so from their "Generation 2018" endowment fund.
Lloris, a key member of the French team that triumphed at the World Cup in Russia four years ago, said that he now preferred that attention stay on the game of football.
"This will allow us to avoid having to respond to inquiries about this before and during the competition because you have to keep the focus on football rather than investing energy on things that are not our responsibility at some point," he told AFP.
The World Cup champions, France, will play Australia on Tuesday to start their title defense before facing Denmark and Tunisia.
Their preparations for the tournament have been slowed down by injuries. RB Leipzig player Christopher Nkunku was the most recent to quit because of an injury.
Nkunku injured his knee on Tuesday during France's final practice before leaving for Qatar. Randal Kolo Muani of Eintracht Frankfurt has since taken Nkunku's place in the team.
Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante, two crucial midfielders, were already out.
