Virgil van Dijk: Abandoning rainbow-coloured armband not a 'backbone' issue

Virgil van Dijk has hit back at claims the Netherlands and other countries have been spineless in the anti-discrimination armband controversy.

The Dutch were one of seven European nations who planned to have their captains wearing the rainbow-coloured OneLove armband at the World Cup.

The band is part of a year-long campaign but sent out an especially significant message in Qatar, a country which criminalises same-sex relationships.

However, the seven countries dropped their plans after tournament organisers FIFA threatened them with sporting sanctions including yellow cards for the captains if the bands were worn, instructing teams to wear a FIFA-approved ‘no discrimination’ band instead.

Oranje skipper Van Dijk told Dutch broadcaster NOS: "I play in a position where a yellow card is not useful. I became a football player and I want to play these kind of tournaments.

"There are people who say we don’t have a backbone, but that’s not how it works," the Liverpool defender added.

"We just want to play football. I would have loved to play with that band, but not at the expense of a yellow card."

England skipper Harry Kane spoke of his disappointment at not being able to wear the band during England’s opening victory over Iran on Monday, while his team-mate Jack Grealish said it was "a bit stupid" that Kane had been prevented from doing so.

The Football Association had been prepared to be fined over the band but its position – and that of the other associations – changed when it became apparent sporting sanctions were a realistic possibility.

FIFA has been heavily criticised over the matter. It only announced its plan for an approved armband on Saturday, and even then, it stated the ‘no discrimination’ part of its campaign would only