The World Cup has been hit by a racism storm – with demands a VAR official be expelled after he made a hand gesture that resembles a white supremacist sign.

Australia’s Shaun Evans was filmed making the upside down ‘OK’ symbol when he and the other officials were shown on screen before Germany’s opening match against Curacao on Sunday.

The gesture is used in a relatively harmless playground ‘Circle Game’ in which players attempt to trick friends into looking at the circle. If they do so, then the person who made the sign gets to punch them in the arm.

It has also been used by far-right groups and the New York-based Anti-Defamation League added it to a list of hate symbols in 2019.

FIFA have launched a probe into the matter and are speaking to the 38-year-old to understand his reason for making the symbol. However, the governing body’s discrimination monitor has already called for Evans to be sent home.

Referee Shaun Evans was ‘support VAR’ for Germany’s victory over Curacao when he was shown staring into the camera before kick-off, as has become customary at World Cup matches 

The Australian A-League official appeared to make an upside-down ‘OK’ hand gesture, which can be interpreted as a symbol linked to white supremacy

‘Advice from our experts is that the gesture used clearly resembles an upside down ‘OK’ hand symbol used as a ‘white power’ symbol in global far-right circles,’ the Fare network said statement in which they described the gesture as ‘neo-nazi’.

‘Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup,’ they added.

The anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out is also understood to have written to FIFA to request an explanation.

Evans has been on the FIFA referee list since 2017 and worked on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He was worked in Australia’s A League since 2012 and took control of the 2019 Grand Final.

Ahead of matches at the World Cup, FIFA has introduced officials on its world feed. The referee and their assistants have been displayed with their names and roles on a graphic before the VAR team, based in Dallas, have also been shown.

When footage cut to the VAR room on Sunday, Evans stood with his arm by his side and made the fingers of his right hand into the symbol.

Following the furore, in subsequent matches officials in the VAR room were already facing the monitors when shown and have no longer looked at the camera.

FIFA and Football Australia have been contacted for comment.

The hand shape appeared similar to the incident surrounding a Paris 2024 official, who had his accreditation removed for appearing to make the gesture during a women’s skateboarding final. 

The hand shape appeared similar to the incident surrounding a Paris 2024 official, who had his accreditation removed for appearing to make the gesture during a skateboarding final 

The ‘OK’ symbol (seen bottom left) can be interpreted as an ‘expression of white supremacy’

In that case, the man in question, who was wearing Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) kit but was later identified as a subcontractor, appeared to make the hand sign twice during event footage while standing behind athletes.

The ADL maintains that the ‘overwhelming usage’ of the hand gesture today is still to show approval, or that someone is all right.

Therefore ‘particular care must be taken not to jump to conclusions about the intent behind someone who has used the gesture’.

However, it can be used as a ‘sincere expression of white supremacy’.

The discriminatory use of the symbol started out as an online joke on 4Chan – taking an innocent gesture and pretending there was a hidden meaning behind it, hoping to trick the media and left-leaning individuals into anger. 

The footage in question was screened live before Germany began their World Cup campaign with a thumping 7-1 victory over debutants Curacao on Sunday.