VAR official denies intentional white power gesture during World Cup broadcast

A brief cut to the VAR room in Dallas before kickoff turned Shaun Evans into one of the World Cup’s first officiating flashpoints. The video assistant referee denied any racist intent, saying he did not mean to send a message of “any kind” and describing the motion as an “involuntary, subconscious twitch.”

The incident came during Germany’s opening match against Curaçao on Sunday, June 14, 2026, when cameras briefly showed Evans holding his thumb and index finger together in an upside-down OK shape. Germany went on to win 7-1, but the on-field result was quickly overshadowed by the off-field dispute because the appearance of match officials before kickoff is part of World Cup broadcast coverage and reaches a global audience.

The gesture spread rapidly online and drew accusations that it resembled a white supremacist or “white power” symbol. FIFA reportedly opened an inquiry, while its anti-racism partner, Fare network, called for Evans to be removed from the World Cup VAR team. Fare said the gesture “clearly resembles an upside down ‘OK’ hand symbol used as a ‘White power’ symbol in global far-right circles,” arguing that viewers should not be exposed to extremist symbolism during a tournament built around trust in officiating.

The Anti-Defamation League has designated the gesture as a hate symbol, but it has also cautioned that context and intent matter because the same hand sign can also be used as a normal OK gesture and in the playground “circle game.” That ambiguity now sits at the center of the controversy, and it is exactly the kind of question leagues and governing bodies are expected to investigate carefully when a split-second movement is amplified to millions.

A later image reportedly showed Evans repeating the same finger position while holding a pen, which he pointed to as support for his explanation that the movement was accidental. For FIFA, the episode has become more than a social media storm. It is a test of whether the governing body can assess intent, protect confidence in VAR, and respond firmly when a small on-screen gesture raises larger doubts about neutrality and governance.