Sport

Laurence Fox tried to criticise Harry Kane for wearing a rainbow armband and it spectacularly backfired

Laurence Fox tried to criticise Harry Kane for wearing a rainbow armband and it spectacularly backfired
Leon Neal/ Carl Recine - Pool/Getty Images

Laurence Fox, the leader of the Reclaim Party and former London mayor candidate, has attempted to criticise the England football captain Harry Kane for planning to wear a rainbow armband for the Euro 2020 clash with Germany.

The Three Lions skipper will wear the armband along with German captain Manuel Neuer for the game at Wembley in honour of Pride Month. Germany’s goalkeeper has worn the armband during all of his side’s three group stage games.

Always one to take exception to even the most unoffensive of gestures, Fox thought he would criticise the move from the England team by writing on Twitter: “Not sure we would be seeing them doing this if the Qatar World Cup had gone ahead.

“Hypocrisy is the new heroism.”

Although he does have a valid point about Qatar’s LGBTQ+ discrimination, Fox clearly doesn’t keep up to date with football news as the 2022 World Cup is definitely still taking place in Qatar.

That particular tournament will undoubtedly be embroiled in controversy but Fox’s spectacular self-own made him rife for mockery.

Fox did eventually delete the tweet and replaced it with another tweet, this time asking when Pride month is in Qatar.

Last year, it was confirmed that Qatar would allow for rainbow flags to be displayed at the stadiums during the World Cup, despite their strict anti-LGBTQ+ laws

Disappointingly, the Pride flag has been a source of controversy during the Euros. Officials in Munich had asked for the Allianz Arena to display the rainbow colours for Germany’s group game with Hungary in opposition to oppressive homophobic laws imposed by the Hungarian government. Uefa blocked this request on political grounds. Neuer’s was almost investigated by Uefa for wearing the rainbow armbands but the investigation was eventually dropped.

This is hardly the first time that Fox has criticised the England team. Earlier this month he boasted that he wanted the team to lose over his disagreement with the players taking the knee before kick-off to show support for those facing racial injustice around the world.

The Conversation (0)