Video assistant referee (VAR) Shaun Evans says an 'OK' sign hand gesture was "an involuntary, subconscious twitch" after he was cleared by a FIFA investigation.

Evans said that he was "unaware" of making the hand movement and denied "intentionally" attempting to "communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind".

The Australian 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 before Germany's 7-1 win over Curacao on Sunday.

Such a gesture has two very distinct meanings - one harmless and the other connected to an expression of white supremacy.

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

The incident was immediately subject to 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."

Evans is available for selection for the rest of the tournament.

'No evidence of breaches of the Fifa disciplinary code'

FIFA issued a short statement confirming that an investigation had been carried out but that the official would face no action.

The 38-year-old Evans went on to explain that video evidence from the VAR room proved that 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 matches during the World Cup, FIFA has been briefly focusing on the officials as part of its global world feed coverage.

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

Then the picture cuts to 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, with their names appearing on screen.

When the camera cut to the VAR room on Sunday, Evans was standing with his arm by his side - and then could be seen making the fingers of his right hand into an 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. We no longer saw them looking at the camera, although their names were still displayed.

What are some of the possible meanings of an upside-down OK?

The gesture made by Evans is very similar to the one used in the circle game, a prank that came to prominence on the US sitcom Malcolm in the Middle and became an internet meme.

An upside-down OK signal is made with the hand below the waist.

If another person looks at the hand, they get a punch in the shoulder.

But in 2017, the OK sign also began to be used by the far right to communicate with one another.

The sign was added to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) 's list of hate symbols in 2019.

The ADL says the OK symbol has become a "popular trolling tactic" from "right-leaning individuals, who often post photos to social media of themselves posing while making the gesture".

The anti-discrimination Fare network, which partners with Fifa and Uefa to tackle racism, had called for Fifa to act prior to Monday evening's statements.

"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," Fare said.

BBC Sport understands anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out has written to FIFA seeking clarification about the gesture.

The 38-year-old Evans has been on the FIFA list of referees since 2017. He is an experienced VAR who was also appointed to officiate at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

In his homeland, Evans has been a referee in the Australian A-League since 2012 and took charge of the 2019 Grand Final.

How referee hub shots changed in games after the gesture

None of the VAR teams posed for the camera during any of the three games after the gesture, instead looking at the monitors in front of them.

The same process then continued for Monday's fixtures.

FIFA has provided no explanation for the change.