The World Cup has been rocked by a major officiating controversy after Australian VAR official Shaun Evans was accused online of making a hand gesture resembling a far-right symbol during Germany’s match against Curaçao.
The incident happened before Germany’s 7-1 win, when the official broadcast briefly showed the VAR team working from the video review centre in Dallas. Evans was seen making an upside-down “OK” gesture with his hand, sparking immediate reaction on social media.
The sign has more than one meaning. In some contexts, it is used harmlessly as part of the so-called “circle game”. However, it has also been adopted by extremist groups and was added to a list of hate symbols by the Anti-Defamation League in 2019. That context quickly turned a short broadcast clip into a major World Cup talking point.
The anti-discrimination organisation Fare, which works with football authorities to monitor discriminatory behaviour, called for Evans to be removed from the tournament. The group argued that the gesture clearly resembled a symbol used in far-right circles and said the matter should be treated seriously.
FIFA opened a review into the incident, but its independent disciplinary committee later cleared Evans of wrongdoing. The governing body said it found no evidence that he had breached the disciplinary code.
Evans also strongly denied making any deliberate political or hateful gesture. In a statement, he said he did not intend to communicate any message, belief, affiliation or symbol. He explained that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch and said he was unaware he had done it at the time.
The Australian official added that later images from the match showed him repeating similar hand movements while holding a pen, supporting his claim that it was not intentional.
Still, the controversy has not disappeared. Many fans remain divided, with some accepting FIFA’s ruling and others arguing that officials at a World Cup must be especially careful about any gesture that could be interpreted in a harmful way.
For Evans, the matter is deeply damaging even after being cleared. Officiating at a World Cup should have been the biggest honour of his career, but instead his name has become attached to one of the tournament’s most sensitive controversies.
The case has also raised wider questions about live broadcast images, social media reactions and how football deals with symbols whose meanings can change depending on context.
FIFA may have closed the disciplinary case, but the debate around Shaun Evans has already become one of the most explosive off-field stories of World Cup 2026.
