World Cup VAR Referee Shaun Evans Sparks Fury Over Hand Gesture

A broadcast moment during Germany’s 7-1 win over Curaçao at the 2026 World Cup has triggered an international backlash after video assistant referee Shaun Evans, an Australian FIFA official since 2017, was shown making a hand sign on camera in Dallas on Sunday. The gesture, captured for about four seconds as he smiled to the lens near kickoff, quickly went viral and drew accusations that it echoed symbols used by white supremacists and Satanist groups.

The hand sign, a circle made with the thumb and index finger while the other fingers were extended, was immediately interpreted by some viewers as the “OK” sign and by others as a racist coded symbol. Fare, an anti-discrimination organization in football, called for Evans to be removed from the rest of the tournament, saying he appeared to be sending a clear neo-Nazi message at a moment when he knew the cameras were on him.

Social media users and some commentators also raised more extreme theories, claiming the gesture was linked to the Illuminati or the satanic cult. At the same time, other posts argued it was a harmless joke known as the “circle game,” or simply a traditional OK sign that has been appropriated by extremists. The Anti-Defamation League noted that while the gesture has innocent origins, extremist groups have adopted it, making its use on a live global broadcast especially troubling.

FIFA has not yet issued any official response, despite the federation’s broader messaging throughout the tournament about unity and anti-discrimination. The incident now leaves world football’s governing body with a difficult choice, whether to suspend Evans and acknowledge a problem inside its officiating ranks, or accept that the moment was a stupid but meaningless prank and move on.