Denmark will wear a “t-shirt” for the World Cup to protest the human rights record of the host country Qatar and its treatment of migrant workers.
Kit supplier Hummel has also designed a third kit, all black, to represent the “color of mourning”.
Hummel said they “didn’t want to appear” in a tournament that they claimed had “taken the lives of thousands”.
“We support the Danish national team but that is not the same as backing Qatar as the host country,” it said.
As part of the design, the coat of arms of Denmark is also “decreased”. Their kit will be a plain red home shirt and an all-white second kit.
Danish workoutwear sponsors will also withdraw their logos to make room for messages critical of Qatar.
Qatari officials have previously disputed the death toll of migrant workers working in World Cup facilities, saying the actual total as of 2021 is 37.
“We wanted to make a statement about Qatar’s human rights record and its treatment of the migrant workers who built the country’s World Cup stadiums,” Hummel said.
“We believe sport should bring people together. And when it doesn’t, we want to make a statement.”
However, the Qatar 2022 supreme committee, the organizer of the tournament, rejected Hummel’s claims about the deaths of the migrant workers.
“We have entered into a strong and transparent dialogue with the Danish Football Association (DBU),” a statement said.
“We wholeheartedly refuse to trivialize our genuine commitment to protecting the health and safety of the 30,000 workers building stadiums and other league projects.
“We have worked hard alongside the Qatari government to ensure that the tournament delivers a lasting social legacy.”
The Committee also called on the DBU to “accurately communicate the results of their extensive communication and work with [committee]”for Hummel.
BBC Sport has approached Fifa for comment.
How have other countries reacted?
Denmark has previously said that they will book “more pressure” on Fifa over human rights concerns during preparations for the World Cup, which begins on November 20.
England captain Harry Kane plans to wear the OneLove captain’s armband during the World Cup as part of a campaign started by the Netherlands to promote diversity and inclusion, while combating discrimination behave.
Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Wales and Switzerland are also backing the initiative.
Qatar has been heavily criticized for the country’s human rights record, including strict anti-LGBT laws and concerns about the treatment of migrant workers.
Secretary General of the World Cup told the BBC in March that criticism had been “informed” and the country “shouldn’t be sorry” for hosting the tournament.
Seven new stadiums are under construction for the event, as well as a new airport, new roads and around 100 new hotels. The Qatari government says 30,000 foreign workers have been hired just to build the stadiums – most from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and the Philippines.
Human rights groups have complained about the treatment of foreign workers in Qatar, and the number of people who have died there.
In February 2021, the Guardian reported that 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died in Qatar since it won the right to host the World Cup.
The number is based on data provided by the embassies of countries in Qatar.
However, the Qatari government says this total is misleading, as not all of the recorded deaths are of people working on projects related to the World Cup.
The government says its accident records show that between 2014 and 2020, 37 workers died at World Cup stadium construction sites, only three of which were “work related”. “.
BBC Arabic has also collected evidence that the Qatari government has a low number of reported foreign worker deaths.
The Football Association of England has backed calls for compensation for “any injury or death in connection with any construction project” for the World Cup.
