Fare Network has called for Australia’s VAR official Shaun Evans to be removed from the 2026 World Cup after an “OK” mark was seen on camera before Germany vs Curacao.
Published June 15, 2026
FIFA’s discrimination watchdog at the World Cup has called for the sacking of a VAR official after he made a hand gesture that resembled a white supremacist sign.
When the official broadcast of Sunday’s Germany opener against Curacao cut out the pre-match and showed it to a team of video review analysts, Australia’s Shaun Evans made an “OK” mark with his right hand in front of his right foot. Although the game was played in Houston, video personnel are working at the World Cup Broadcast Center in Dallas.
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In 2019, the gesture, which involves touching in a circle with the thumb and index finger and extending the other fingers, was designated as a hate symbol by the New York-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
“Our expert advice is that the gesture used clearly resembles the upside-down ‘OK’ hand symbol used as a symbol of ‘white power’ in far-right circles around the world,” Fare Network, a long-time partner of FIFA and European football association UEFA that monitors racist and discriminatory chants, flags and symbols at international matches, said in a statement.
“Clearly, these officials should have no further role to play in this World Cup,” Fallet said in a statement, describing the actions as “neo-Nazi.”
FIFA has been contacted by Al Jazeera for comment.
In Australia, the Professional Football Referees Association and governing body Football Australia have been contacted for comment.
It was unclear whether Evans, playing his first World Cup game, had political intentions or was playing a prank on a child’s game.
“Gotcha” or “Circle Game” is a game in which someone flashes an upside-down OK sign below their waist and punches anyone who sees it in the shoulder.
It began as a hoax on the far-right online message board 4chan 10 years ago and was appropriated as a white supremacist signal.
When the sign was designated as a hate symbol in 2019, Oren Segal, director of the ADL Center on Extremism, said context was key in interpreting whether the “OK” symbol was a hate symbol or harmless.
At the time, he said, “There is enough hateful usage that we felt it was important to add to it.”
Evans is one of 30 video review analysts selected by FIFA to work at the World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“Why would a VAR director use this symbol at a global soccer event, at the exact moment he knows the cameras are pointing at him?” Fare said. “We have noted that for the next two games, the TV director appears to have stopped introducing the VAR panel to the TV audience.”
