FIFA has cleared referee Shaun Evans of wrongdoing after he was accused of making a racist gesture prior to Sunday's game between Germany and Curaçao.
Evans was shown in the video referee studio with his hand by his side in the "OK" symbol, which has been ******* ociated with white supremacy.
In a statement, the Australian referee said that the gesture was an "involuntary, subconscious twitch."
"I would like to clarify that I did not intentionally make a hand gesture or symbol to communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind," Evans said.
"The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch and I was unaware I had done it at the time. Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers. The coverage following this incident simply does not reflect who I am.