The Dutch, who opened their Group A campaign with a 2-0 win over African champions Senegal, were one of seven European nations to abandon their plans to wear the rainbow ‘OneLove’ stripes after they FIFA will threaten them with sports sanctions.
Instead, teams wore ‘No Discrimination’ armbands as part of an official campaign, drawing criticism of FIFA for again appearing to protect the sensitivities of hosts Qatar, a country where same-sex relationships are criminalized. .
Van Gaal, who has previously been scathing about the decision to host the finals in the Gulf state, said on Monday night: “I don’t want to answer political questions, but one thing is clear: we are not going to wear an armband if we They will get a yellow card.
“We need to ask ourselves if this is a correct act on behalf of FIFA. All of us need to ask ourselves if this is a correct act, this is very clear.”
Van Gaal’s side had first-time goalkeeper Andries Noppert to thank for avoiding a powerful shot from Boulaye Dia in the 65th minute, and the Oranje took the lead when Cody Gakpo headed past Edouard Mendy with six minutes of normal time left. .
The Chelsea keeper was arguably at fault for the second again deep into eight minutes of stoppage time, deflecting a shot from substitute Memphis Depay into the path of another substitute, Davy Klaassen, who netted the rebound.
Former Manchester United and Barcelona manager Van Gaal added: “We were shoddy and messy in possession, but we gave away very little.
“We gave very few chances, but he was not satisfied with the possession of the ball on our side, we were inaccurate and ran too much with the ball.”
Senegal, robbed of their star Sadio Mane, are now at the back of the group with games against Qatar and Ecuador to come.
Their coach, Aliou Cissé, said: “It was a very difficult match, a balanced match, I don’t think the scoreline reflects the match fairly.
“I am happy with our performance, the next game is vital if we want to progress.
“The coach is responsible for any loss, maybe I’m to blame. We had two or three very good chances to score.”
“But we created chances, so we’ll take heart from that.”
Cissé is concerned about injuries to defender Abdou Diallo, who suffered a muscle problem, and Nottingham Forest midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate, who sprained his ankle.