Sancho's Solidarity With George Floyd Should Be Applause, Not Punishment

JAKARTA - FIFA President Gianni Infantino gave support to footballers who showed their solidarity over the death of George Floyd. Infantino said Bundesliga players like Jadon Sancho deserved applause, not punishment.

The football governing body urged national associations to adopt a common sense approach when dealing with protests and demonstrations on the ground amid civil unrest in the United States.

Borussia Dortmund duo Jadon Sancho and Achraf Hakimi displayed a message of 'Justice for George Floyd' as they celebrated a goal during Sunday's Bundesliga win over Paderborn.

First professional hat trick 🙏🏼. A bittersweet moment personally as there are more important things going on in the world today that we must address and help make a change. We have to come together as one & fight for justice. We are stronger together! ❤️ #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/ntOtwOySCO

- Jadon Sancho (Sanchooo10) May 31, 2020

Schonke Weston McKennie wore the armband with the same message and Borussia Monchengladbach forward Marcus Thuram got to his knees after scoring against Union Berlin.

Together is how we move forward, together is how we make a change 👊🏿 #BLACK_LIVES_MATTERS pic.twitter.com/7OJUWqTLQZ

- RATS 🦍 (MarcusThuram) May 31, 2020

The incident occurred after Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis last week because his neck was strangled using his knee. This incident sparked demonstrations and riots in the US and beyond.

Sancho was shown a yellow card for removing his shirt, while Hakimi, McKennie and Thuram received no on-court penalties for the tribute they paid to Floyd. However, the German Football Association (DFB) said it would examine players to see if sanctions were necessary.

FIFA said going forward, competition organizers should "consider the context around the events" before deciding to punish any such incidents on the pitch.

Infantino went further on Tuesday saying punishing the actions of people like Sancho was tantamount to opposing FIFA's anti-discrimination and anti-violence campaign.

"For the avoidance of doubt, in FIFA competitions, a player's recent demonstration at a Bundesliga match will be applauded and not punished,"

FIFA President Gianni Infantino

"We must all say no to racism and all forms of discrimination. We must all say no to violence. All forms of violence."