The International Football Association (FIFA) has urged teams participating in the World Cup to focus on football in Qatar and prevent the sport from being embroiled in ideological or political battles, Reuters reported.
The message from FIFA President Gianni Infantino and FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samura followed a string of protests by World Cup teams on issues ranging from LGBT rights to concerns about the treatment of migrant workers.
“Please now let’s focus on football,” Sky News said in a statement referring to Infantino and Zamora, addressed to the 32 countries participating in the World Cup.
“We know that football does not live in a vacuum and we are equally aware that there are many challenges and difficulties of a political nature in the world, but please do not let football be dragged into every existing ideological or political battle.” they added in a letter, according to Reuters.
November 20 begins the World Cup, which will be held in the Middle East for the first time.
Last week, the Australian national football team criticized Qatar’s policies on human rights and same-sex relationships.
The Danish Football Association also told local media last month that Danish players would travel to the World Cup without their families to protest human rights violations in the country.
The Australian Football Association confirmed that it had received a letter from FIFA on Friday, but declined to say more.
World Cup organizers said everyone was welcome, regardless of their sexual orientation or background, but they also warned against showing intimacy in public.
Qatar acknowledged the existence of “gaps” in its labor system, but the World Cup allowed the country to make progress in respecting workers’ rights.
“At FIFA, we try to respect all opinions and beliefs without giving moral lessons to the rest of the world,” Infantino said in a letter.
He continued: “One of the greatest strengths of the world is indeed its diversity, and if inclusion means anything, it means respecting that diversity. No people, no culture or nation is “better” than others.”
He continued: “This principle underlies mutual respect and non-discrimination. It is also one of the fundamental values of football. So please let’s all remember this and focus on football.” “.
On Wednesday, Qatari Labor Minister Ali bin Smeikh Al-Marri said his country was rejecting calls for a new special fund to compensate migrant workers who died or were injured on its lands while building mega-projects to host the World Cup. , denouncing Doha’s exposure to “racist” attacks.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse, the Qatari minister said that Doha has had a migrant worker compensation fund for years through which it has been disbursing hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation and assistance.
With the World Cup in Qatar approaching on November 20, criticism of the Gulf Emirate’s human rights intensifies, especially regarding the rights of migrant workers.
Human rights organizations are calling on the Qatari authorities and FIFA to set up a $440 million fund to compensate these workers, but the Qatari minister ridiculed the idea as a mere “propaganda ploy,” AFP reported.
