Germany protests FIFA's rainbow armband rule before World Cup match

Members of the German soccer team covered their mouths during a team photo before their World Cup match against Japan on Wednesday, in protest of FIFA's plan to penalize players who wore a OneLove armband.

Driving the news: "It wasn’t about making a political statement — human rights are non-negotiable," the German team said in a statement posted on Twitter.

• "That should be taken for granted, but it still isn’t the case. That’s why this message is so important to us. Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice."

The big picture: FIFA threatened to penalize players who wore a OneLove armband during World Cup matches with yellow cards.

• Seven European teams earlier this week said they had ditched their plans to wear the OneLove armbands as a result, which were part of an anti-discrimination campaign.

What they're saying: "We wanted to use our captain’s armband to take a stand for values that we hold in the Germany national team: diversity and mutual respect. Together with other nations, we wanted our voice to be heard," the German team said.

Go deeper... Blinken criticizes FIFA's threats over rainbow armbands at World Cup