VAR official who made hand gesture returns to duty

Shaun Evans also acted as a VAR official at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar [Getty Images]

Video assistant referee official Shaun Evans will return to duty for New Zealand's game against Egypt on Sunday (Monday, 02:00 BST).

The Australian will act as the assistant VAR official to Mohammed Khamid for the Group G match in Vancouver.

It is Evans' first appointment since a Fifa investigation cleared him of making an inappropriate hand gesture, captured by the television cameras, before Germany's 7-1 win over Curacao.

The 38-year-old could be seen making the fingers of his right hand into an upside down 'OK' sign when Fifa cut to a shot of the VAR team at the referee hub in Dallas.

Such a gesture has an association with an expression of white supremacy.

Evans insisted it was "an involuntary, subconscious twitch" and denied "intentionally" attempting to "communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind".

World governing body Fifa said after looking into the matter it found "no evidence of breaches of the Fifa Disciplinary Code".

The incident was immediately the subject of a huge amount of speculation on social media.

"The coverage following this incident simply does not reflect who I am," Evans said in a statement issued by Fifa.

"Of course, I understand how the gesture has been interpreted and I regret this, however I want to be very clear and categorically say that I did not knowingly or deliberately make the hand symbol suggested."

'No evidence of breaches of the Fifa disciplinary code'

Fifa issued a short statement on Monday to confirm an investigation had been carried out and the official would face no action.

Evans went on to explain that video evidence from the VAR room proved he had made involuntary movements.

"Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers," he said.

"Officiating at the World Cup is the biggest honour of my career and I look forward to supporting my colleagues for the rest of the tournament."

Before World Cup matches, Fifa had been briefly focusing on the officials as part of its global coverage.

First, the referee, and the rest of his team, have walked to the touchline and a graphic has been displayed with their names and roles.

Then the picture has cut to a shot of the VAR team at the referee hub in Dallas.

Rather than showing them at work and looking at their monitors, they have also briefly posed for the camera and their names have appeared on screen.

When the camera cut to the VAR room before the Germany-Curacao fixture, Evans was standing with his arm by his side - and then could be seen making the fingers of his right hand into the upside down 'OK' sign.

There was a noticeable change in approach for pre-match rituals after the Germany-Curacao game.

When the VAR hub was shown in subsequent matches, the officials were already facing the monitors. No longer did we see them looking at the camera, although their names were still displayed.