Shaun Evans Cleared by Fifa Iran After OK Gesture Probe

fifa iran cleared Shaun Evans after investigating the VAR official’s hand gesture during coverage before Germany’s 7-1 win over Curacao on Sunday. The case drew a burst of social media speculation because the same gesture can be read as harmless or as a symbol tied to white supremacy.

Shaun Evans in Dallas

Evans, the 38-year-old video assistant referee, said the movement was an "involuntary, subconscious twitch" and that he was "unaware" he had made it. He also denied acting "intentionally" to "communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind".

Fifa cut to its referee team and then the VAR team at the referee hub in Dallas as part of its global match coverage, placing Evans on screen just before the Germany-Curacao match. That sequence is what brought the gesture into view and pushed the reaction far beyond the broadcast itself.

Fifa Disciplinary Code

After looking into the incident, Fifa said it found "no evidence of breaches of the Fifa Disciplinary Code" and said Evans would face no action. Evans said later images from the match showed he repeated the same movement many times while holding a pen between his fingers.

He added that "The coverage following this incident simply does not reflect who I am" and wrote that he "did not knowingly or deliberately make the hand symbol suggested." The gesture drew immediate attention online, but the investigation ended with the official cleared and still available for selection for the rest of the tournament.