Australian referee Shaun Evans has been cleared after being investigated by FIFA's independent Disciplinary Committee over a potential breach of the Disciplinary Code when he made a hand gesture, touching the thumb and index finger in an inverse OK gesture, that can have two very different interpretations.
While, colloquially, making that circle gesture below the waist and getting someone to look at it means that the person that does the gesture has the right to punch the other in the shoulder, in what is known as "the circle game", it can also be a distinctive gesture by the far-right: doing that gesture in photographs or social events is a way to silently express white supremacy, a gesture that was added in the list of hate symbols by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
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When FIFA made a video showing the referees of the World Cup match between Germany and Curaçao, that ended 7-1, the VAR officials looked at the camera, and Evans, a video assistant referee, made that OK hand gesture, a moment that went viral.
Given its connotations, FIFA opened an investigation on Evans, who made a statement and denied having made that symbol deliberately. "The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch and I was unaware I had done it at the time", Evans said. "Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers."
"The coverage following this incident simply does not reflect who I am. Of course, I understand how the gesture has been interpreted and I regret this, however I want to be very clear and categorically say that I did not knowingly or deliberately make the hand symbol suggested".
FIFA's independent Disciplinary Committee said that they had found no evidence of breaches of their Disciplinary Code and Evans has been cleared and will continue to work for the rest of the tournament.