November 4 – Increasingly alarmed about their showpiece tournament being undermined by constant criticism over Qatar’s human rights record, FIFA’s leadership has taken the unprecedented step of pleading with the 32 finalists to concentrate on the football.
World Cup organisers have insisted that everyone, no matter their sexual orientation or background, is welcome and that there will be no discrimination. But the tournament has been plagued with all manner of controversy leading to protests from players and fans.
Human rights groups have kept up the pressure about the treatment of foreign labourers in Qatar, and the number who have died.
Denmark’s team has already announced their players will wear “toned-down” shirts with kit provider Hummel saying it “does not wish to be visible” in a tournament it claims “has cost thousands of lives”.
Australia’s squad have released a video focussing on treatment of foreign workers and restrictions on the LGBTQI+ community, while nine European team captains have requested to wear rainbow-coloured ‘One Love’ armbands.
In a letter to the participants, FIFA president Gianni Infantino and secretary general Fatma Samoura urge teams not to hand out moral lessons or allow football to be “dragged” into ideological or political “battles”
“We know football does not live in a vacuum and we are equally aware that there are many challenges and difficulties of a political nature all around the world,” says the letter.
“But please do not allow football to be dragged into every ideological or political battle that exists.”
“At FIFA, we try to respect all opinions and beliefs, without handing out moral lessons to the rest of the world.”
“One of the great strengths of the world is indeed its very diversity, and if inclusion means anything, it means having respect for that diversity. No one people or culture or nation is ‘better’ than any other.
“This principle is the very foundation stone of mutual respect and non-discrimination. And this is also one of the core values of football. So, please let’s all remember that and let football take centre stage.”
Beth Mead, one of the stars of England women’s European triumph during the summer, said this week it was “disappointing” the tournament is being held in Qatar.
Mead, who is openly gay, does not think the Gulf state is the “right place” for the tournament to be staged.
Off-the-field issues show no sign of abating in the build-up to the tournament and it’s not just about Qatar. The Ukrainian FA is calling for Iran to be banned for “systematic human rights violations”.
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