Australian referee denies supremacist gesture at the World Cup: "Involuntary spasm"

Australian referee Shaun Evans, who appeared during the broadcast of Germany x Curaçao making a gesture attributed to supremacist movements, said that the signal was an involuntary spasm.

The justification was issued via a statement from Evans sent by FIFA to Estadão. The entity will still make an official statement through the Disciplinary Committee, which analyzes the situation.

"The only explanation I can give is that the movement was involuntary, a spasm, and that I had no idea I did it," wrote Evans. "Images during the match showed that I repeated the movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers."

Evans criticized the coverage of the case, saying it does not reflect who he is. "I understand how the gesture could be interpreted and I'm sorry about that. But I want to make it clear that I didn't do it deliberately," he continued.

"Playing in the World Cup is the greatest honor of my career, and I want to continue helping my colleagues in the rest of the tournament", he concluded.

The gesture, like an "OK" sign, brings the thumb and index finger together, but with the hand facing down, in a format that would indicate the letters "WP" (White Power). The sign was added by the NGO Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to a list of hate symbols in 2019.

Shaun Evans is 38 years old and has been a FIFA referee since 2017. Since 2008, Evans has been a member of the panel of referees in the A-League, Australia's top division. Between 2012 and 2013, he became an assistant and then head judge. It was only in 2016 that the professional was hired as a full-time referee. Until then, he shared the whistle with his job as a bricklayer.

Statement from Shaun Evans
"I would like to clarify that I did not intentionally make any hand gestures or symbols to communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind.

The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious spasm, and I was not aware of having done it at the time. Footage captured later during the match showed that I repeated this movement several times while holding a pen between my fingers.

The news coverage following this incident simply does not reflect who I am. Of course, I understand how the gesture was interpreted and I regret that, but I want to make it clear and categorically state that I did not make the suggested hand gesture consciously or deliberately.

Serving as a referee at the World Cup is the greatest honor of my career and I look forward to supporting my colleagues throughout the remainder of the tournament."

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Source: CNN