Arsene Wenger: "OneLove demonstrations cost Germany the World Cup"

After both Spain and Germany went to dressing rooms with a 1-0 advantage, the group's situation became chaotic as first

completed a comeback against Spain to secure the group's first place, with Germany’s eventual 4-2 victory not enough to send them to the next round.

The former Arsenal boss

believes the German’s demonstrations against FIFA banning OneLove armband in their first game caused their early elimination. Wenger said at the World Cup Technical Study Group briefing:

"You know when you go to a World Cup, you know you can't lose the first game. The teams who have the experience to perform in tournaments like France and England played well in the first game.

"The teams who were mentally ready, with a mindset to focus on competition, and not the political demonstrations."

also lost one of its commercial partners due to the armband dispute. REWE chief executive Lionel Souque said:

"We stand for diversity and football is diversity. The scandalous behavior of FIFA is for me as the CEO of a diverse company, as well as a football fan, absolutely unacceptable."

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