During the official broadcast of the Germany vs Curacao World Cup match on June 14, 2026, Australian VAR official Shaun Evans was seen making an upside down 'OK' hand gesture with his thumb and forefinger touching in a circle and other fingers outstretched near his right leg [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. The symbol is known both as a harmless 'circle game' prank and a hate symbol linked to white supremacy and far-right groups, designated by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as a hate symbol in 2019 [1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9].

The Fare network, a long-time FIFA partner on discrimination monitoring, called the gesture a 'white power' symbol and demanded Evans be removed from further World Cup duties [3, 4]. Oren Segal of ADL’s Center on Extremism said, "There is enough of a volume of use for hateful purposes that we felt it was important to add [the OK sign] as a hate symbol" [3].

After the gesture sparked significant social media speculation and public concern on June 15, FIFA launched an investigation into the incident [1, 2, 9]. The independent Disciplinary Committee found no evidence that Evans breached FIFA’s Disciplinary Code or intentionally made the gesture [2, 5, 6, 7, 8]. Evans said the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch that he was unaware of at the time and categorically denied making the gesture to communicate any message or belief. He stated, "I would like to clarify that I did not intentionally make a hand gesture or symbol 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 twitch and I was unaware I had done it at the time... The coverage following this incident simply does not reflect who I am" [2, 5, 6, 7, 8].

Evans is one of 30 VAR officials selected by FIFA to officiate at the 2026 World Cup held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico [3, 6, 7]. Following the controversy, FIFA changed its broadcast practice and no longer shows VAR officials looking directly at the camera during pre-match introductions [1].