FIFAB次元官网网址檚 threat of on-field punishment for players forced to back down Monday and abandon a plan for their captains to wear armbands that were seen as a rebuke to host nation QatarB次元官网网址檚 human rights record.

Just hours before the first players wearing the armbands in support of the B次元官网网址淥ne LoveB次元官网网址� campaign , FIFA warned they would be immediately be shown yellow cards B次元官网网址� changing the calculus for the seven European teams, which may have expected to merely be fined. The displays are a violation of FIFA rules.

The standoff was just the latest dispute that threatened to overshadow the play. Since being awarded the World Cup hosting rights in 2010, conservative Muslim Qatar of its treatment of low-paid migrant workers as well as its criminalization of homosexuality.

The decision came three days after under pressure from the Qatari government and two days after FIFA president Gianni Infantino defending the host nationB次元官网网址檚 human rights record.

The captains of seven European nations had vowed to wear armbands carrying the heart-shaped multi-colored logo of the B次元官网网址淥ne LoveB次元官网网址� campaign, which promotes inclusion and diversity in soccer and society. That set up the prospect of viewers worldwide seeing a symbol of disapproval with the host country and defiance of FIFA on the arms of EnglandB次元官网网址檚 Harry Kane, the NetherlandsB次元官网网址� Virgil van Dijk and WalesB次元官网网址� Gareth Bale on Monday.

But in the end, the teams said they couldnB次元官网网址檛 sacrifice success on the field. A yellow card is a warning, but two yellows would see a player sent off the field for the rest of the game and banned from the next B次元官网网址� a sanction that is intensified in the World Cup format, where teams play just three games before the elimination rounds begin.

B次元官网网址淎s national federations we canB次元官网网址檛 put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including bookings,B次元官网网址� the seven soccer federations said in a joint statement.

The captains of Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark had also pledged to wear the armbands in the coming days.

B次元官网网址淥ur number one priority at the World Cup is to win the games,B次元官网网址� the Dutch soccer federation said in a separate statement. B次元官网网址淭hen you donB次元官网网址檛 want the captain to start the match with a yellow card.B次元官网网址�

EnglandB次元官网网址檚 Football Supporters Association said it felt betrayed by FIFA.

B次元官网网址淭oday we feel contempt for an organization that has shown its true values by giving the yellow card to players and the red card to tolerance,B次元官网网址� the FSA said.

Gurchaten Sandhu, of the Geneva-based International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, said that FIFA put B次元官网网址渁thletes in a very, very awkwardB次元官网网址� position.

B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檝e bound the hands of the national teams. TheyB次元官网网址檙e there to compete,B次元官网网址� he said.

It wasnB次元官网网址檛 immediately clear what, if any, influence QatarB次元官网网址檚 autocratic government had on the decision. The Qatari government and its Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which oversees the World Cup, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The European plans were in clear breach of World Cup regulations and FIFAB次元官网网址檚 general rules on team equipment at its games, but Danish soccer federation head Jakob Jensen told Danish broadcaster TV2 that the organization was B次元官网网址漞xtremely disappointed with FIFA.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭hey have known about our position for a long time,B次元官网网址� Jensen said. B次元官网网址淲e stand for inclusion, just like FIFA says they stand for inclusion. I donB次元官网网址檛 see how our message is in conflict with the messages FIFA wants to send.B次元官网网址�

FIFA raised the prospect of yellow cards on Sunday during a testy meeting with European soccer federations.

The soccer bodyB次元官网网址檚 equipment regulations state: B次元官网网址淔or FIFA final competitions, the captain of each team must wear the captainB次元官网网址檚 armband provided by FIFA.B次元官网网址�

Its proposal, announced Saturday, was for captains to wear armbands with socially aware, though generic, slogans. In that offer, armbands reading B次元官网网址淣o DiscriminationB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� the only one of its chosen slogan aligned with the European teamsB次元官网网址� wish B次元官网网址� would appear only at the quarterfinal stage.

On Monday, it offered a compromise, saying captains of all 32 teams B次元官网网址渨ill have the opportunityB次元官网网址� to wear an armband with the slogan B次元官网网址淣o DiscriminationB次元官网网址� in the group games.

B次元官网网址擥raham Dunbar, The Associated Press