The incident occurred before Germany's 7-1 victory over Curacao in the opening match of Group E on 14/6. As the television broadcast introduced the VAR team working at the World Cup operations center in Dallas, Evans extended his right hand in front of his right leg, forming an "OK" symbol with his thumb and index finger touching to create a circle, while the other three fingers remained extended.

This gesture sparked widespread debate on social media. Several accounts suggested it was a "white power" symbol, which far-right groups have used for many years.

Shaun Evans with the controversial hand gesture before Germany's 7-1 win over Curacao in Group E of the 2026 World Cup at Houston, US on 14/6. Photo: screenshot

Fare Network, a long-standing partner of FIFA and UEFA in monitoring racism, discrimination, and extremist symbols at international tournaments, subsequently issued a statement demanding FIFA action. "Our experts' assessment indicates that the gesture clearly resembles the inverted OK symbol used as a 'white power' sign by far-right groups globally," Fare stated.

The organization went further, describing Evans' gesture as a "neo-fascist" symbol and arguing that the Australian referee should not continue his duties at the World Cup. "Why would a VAR supervisor use this symbol at a global football event at a time when he knew cameras were focused on him?" Fare questioned. "Clearly, this official should not continue participating in the World Cup."

According to Fare, for the two subsequent matches, the television director appeared to have stopped introducing the VAR team to viewers before kickoff.

However, no evidence has emerged to suggest Evans intentionally conveyed a political message or extremist ideology. After noting the incident, FIFA conducted an investigation and affirmed Evans' innocence. In a communique on 15/6, FIFA's independent disciplinary committee stated it found no evidence of a violation of FIFA's disciplinary rules.

In his written explanation, Evans stated: "The only explanation I can offer is that the action was an unconscious, unintentional twitch, and I did not realize I had done it at the time. Subsequent images from the match show me repeating this movement multiple times while holding a pen between my fingers."

Evans is one of 30 VAR officials selected by FIFA to work at the 2026 World Cup, and this was his first match officiating in the tournament.

The point of contention lies in the "OK" symbol itself, which is a widely recognized gesture globally, signifying "okay", "agreement", or "everything is good". In the US and many other countries, this gesture is also associated with a children's game called the "Circle Game", where one person forms a finger circle below their waist and playfully teases anyone who inadvertently looks at it.

Nonetheless, about 10 years ago, this symbol began appearing in far-right online communities. White supremacists interpret the three extended fingers as the letter "W" (White), and the circle formed by the thumb and index finger, combined with the forearm, as the letter "P" (Power).

In 2019, the New York-based anti-hate organization Anti-Defamation League (ADL) added this symbol to its database of hate symbols. That same year, Brenton Tarrant, the perpetrator of the mass shootings that killed 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, also appeared in court making a similar gesture.

Despite this, the ADL has repeatedly advised caution when interpreting this symbol. According to the organization, context is crucial, as the majority of "OK" sign uses remain entirely unrelated to extremism or racism.

Oren Segal, director of the Center on Extremism at the ADL, explained when adding the symbol to the database in 2019 that assessment must be based on specific context. He suggested that the sign appeared frequently enough within hate groups to warrant monitoring, but not every instance carried an extremist meaning.