There are only a few days left until a football World Cup that should not take place in this form. Qatar has already shown itself to be completely unsuitable as a host in the years before the World Cup and confirmed it again this week. There are workers who are kept like slaves and have died in their thousands building the luxurious arenas – according to the “Guardian” at least 6,500 workers are said to have lost their lives. There is no equality for women in the strictly Islamic country, and extramarital sex and homosexuality are punishable by law. The fact that the World Cup was awarded to the desert state should also be associated with a lot of bribes. For years there has been negative reporting about the awarding of the World Cup and the place where Fifa boss Gianni Infantino lives should be the icing on the cake. Because the 52-year-old lives where? Exactly, in Qatar. The fact that even the former Fifa boss Sepp Blatter, under whom the World Cup was awarded to Qatar and also not a blameless sheet, made public statements and attached Infantino too close to the organizers says a lot.
This week, however, made it very clear why the World Cup should not actually take place and what an inglorious role the world football association plays in the whole procedure. In a documentary about Qatar released on Tuesday, ZDF reporter Jochen Breyer spoke to Qatar’s World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman about football and the host country. What the audience heard there made some people’s jaws drop. Women are like sweets and it’s better to take the packaged ones, a Katari explained to a visibly irritated Breyer, alluding to the full veil that is in force in the country. But Salman topped that when he explained in an interview with Breyer that homosexuality is “mental damage”. Shortly thereafter, Salman rowed back on Twitter that the statement had been taken out of context. Only to point out that while everyone is welcome in Qatar, the country’s culture will not change. Within 16 years, the World Cup has changed from the “world to make friends” – which also included a bribery affair – to the “world to make homophobes”.
From the point of view of Western countries, this attitude is certainly medieval, but Fifa is playing along happily. On Thursday, they banned a training jersey from the Danish team, which wanted to draw attention to the words “Human rights for all”. Although the world association did not give a reason, it refers to its legal manual, which prohibits the carrying of political messages. Incidentally, the handbook that condemns and clearly regulates the violation of human dignity through discrimination, defamation of sexual orientation or religion – only for World Cup hosts does this not seem to apply.
In the run-up to the World Cup, Fifa also sent a letter to the 32 participating nations in which Infantino called for an “apolitical World Cup”. While we are aware that there are political challenges and difficulties around the world, “please don’t allow football to be drawn into every ideological or political battle there is.” Shut up and play football – that’s what Infantino and the other Fifa colonels would like to see. However, human rights are rights that every human being should have because of their humanity – this has nothing to do with politics or with an ideology and must also be clear to money-soaked Fifa officials. An association that campaigns against racism and discrimination should perhaps send a clear signal and not simply look the other way when the World Cup is not awarded. Anyone who sows the seed must also deal with the consequences – and that includes addressing the problems clearly and openly.
But this time, the beautiful money-green Fifa world could finally get a shot across the bow. The fact that national coach Hansi Flick takes the time to talk about political issues before the squad is announced on Thursday is a sign for the coming weeks. “We don’t want to duck away and clearly draw attention to the grievances,” said Flick, and other players have also recently been critical of the situation in Qatar. Criticism can also be expected from England, one of the title favorites for the Winter World Cup. “We’ve always talked about what needed to be discussed. We’re very clear on human rights issues,” said Three Lions coach Gareth Southgate, also at the squad’s announcement. He considers it “highly unlikely” that there will only be football issues to be discussed in Qatar. It remains to be hoped that these are not just empty phrases and that the teams also live up to their obligations outside of sport.
