World Cup referee denies making ‘white power’ gesture

The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been undeniably exciting through its first week, including thrilling upsets, dominant victories, and compelling storylines. However, it has not been without its fair share of controversies, including a referee making what appeared to be a “white power” gesture while he was on camera.

Since the incident has gone viral, however, the referee has denied the claim, saying that the gesture was simply a result of an “involuntary twitch.”

Referee Appears to Make ‘White Power’ Gesture

During the television broadcast of Sunday’s Group E match between Germany and Curaçao, Australian FIFA World Cup referee Shaun Evans appeared to make a notable “white power” gesture when cameras showed him in the VAR room of the tournament.

Evans was serving as one of the video assistant referees at the World Cup broadcast center in Dallas when he was shown on camera during the broadcast. When Evans was on camera, he formed a circle with his thumb and index finger while extending the rest of his fingers – a gesture that looks like an upside-down “OK” sign.

Australian Shaun Evans just pulled the move of all moves from the VAR room at the World Cup pic.twitter.com/0HK0dWrE11

— Matt Vandenberg (@M1D3V) June 15, 2026

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the gesture has been co-opted by white supremacist groups and was designated as a hate symbol in 2019.

Fare, a group that monitors racist and discriminatory chants, accused Evans of “intentionally transmitting a far-right neo-Nazi symbol” and called on FIFA to intervene.

“Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup,” the group said, via The Athletic.

‘Involuntary, Subconscious Twitch’

Evans addressed the incident in a statement this week, denying that he intentionally made the gesture.

“I did not intentionally make a hand gesture or symbol to communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind,” he said in a statement via Yahoo.

Evans blamed the gesture on an “involuntary, subconscious twitch,” and pointed out that he made the same gesture multiple times later in the match, too.

“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,” he said. “Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers.”