World Cup Referee Accused of Making Vile Gesture on Camera

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An Australian video official appeared to flash a hand signal associated with white supremacists during Sunday’s broadcast of Germany’s 7-1 rout of Curaçao.

Shaun Evans, 38, was serving as a support video assistant referee when cameras cut to the review booth before kickoff, briefly showing him forming an inverted “OK” gesture.

Once a sign of approval, it has been co-opted by the far right—three raised fingers read as a W, and the loop as a P, for white power.

Christchurch mosque gunman Brenton Tarrant made the same sign at his 2019 court hearing.

Evans, a former bricklayer, worked as a VAR at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The anti-racism Fare network demanded his removal, insisting the official “should have no further role to play in this World Cup.” FIFA acknowledged the matter but declined to comment.

The Anti-Defamation League characterizes the gesture as a hate symbol but warns “caution” should be exercised in interpreting it because it’s also occasionally used as a harmless playground prank—with the gesture made toward the ground before punching a second person in the arm if they happen to look down.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7361130/2026/06/14/shaun-evans-white-power-fifa-world-cup/">Read it at New York Times

https://www.thedailybeast.com/australian-world-cup-referee-shaun-evans-accused-of-making-vile-gesture-on-camera/">Read more at The Daily Beast.