Eden Hazard insists he is not at the World Cup to send a political message, with the Belgium captain keen to focus solely on football.
FIFA’s decision to ban players who wear the “OneLove” armband in Qatar has sparked a backlash.
Germany’s players showed their annoyance at not being allowed to wear the armband – designed to promote diversity and inclusion – by covering their mouths in their team photo ahead of their group stage opener against Japan.
Germany were beaten in the end as Japan won 2-1, the second upset result in as many days after Saudi Arabia’s win over Argentina.
Other countries such as Belgium, England, Wales and Hazard’s Netherlands were also required to wear the armband to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community under Qatar’s homosexuality laws, but they also decided against it after the threat of sporting sanctions.
Asked about the fury, Hazard said he felt uncomfortable discussing it and seemed to wonder if Germany should have been more focused on their game.
Of Germany covering his mouth in protest, he said: “I liked it but [laughs] they lost in the end. We are here to play football.
“They would have been better off not doing it and winning.
“We’re here to play football, I’m not here to send a political message, people are better placed for that. We want to focus on football.
On the ‘One Love’ armband, the 31-year-old added: “I’m not comfortable talking about it because I’m here to play football.
“I didn’t want to start the game with a yellow card.
“It would have been boring for the rest of the tournament. To do it again, maybe I’ll postpone it.
England’s Harry Kane and other national team captains wore a FIFA-designed “No Discrimination” armband for the opening game instead.
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane, however, believes the players should have stuck to their guns.
“I think the players could have done it for the first game – take the punishment, whatever it was,” he said.
“If it’s Kane, you might get a yellow card, but that would have been a great statement.