January 26 – Bayern Munich, chasing their sixth consecutive Bundesliga title, has defended sponsorship and training links with Qatar after criticism from Wenzel Michalski, the director of Human Rights Watch Germany.
Michalski believes the club has not lived up to its duties as a role model by not commenting on the human rights issues in Qatar and is particularly uncomfortable with Bayern’s new sleeve sponsorship with Hamad International Airport in Qatar.
He says the Bayern position “contradicts the values the club claims to champion.”
The Human Rights Watch position also seems somewhat contradictory, having praised Qatar in November last year for making progress when the International Labour Organisation (Qatar’s fiercest critic on workers’ rights in the country) halted a potential investigation into Qatar’s employment practises after the government in Doha introduced legislation to protect foreign workers, and pledged further reforms.
The club responded saying: “We’re seeing a positive development as far as the (current) situation in Doha is concerned. The United Nations Labour Organisation confirmed this in November and officially terminated their investigation into the working and living conditions of guest workers in Qatar.
“The criticised kafala labour system now needs to be phased out gradually. The (German) Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel recently told us that the situation of workers in Qatar has improved through football, although of course there is room for further improvement.
“As a representative of the whole football family, FC Bayern plays its part towards ensuring this can be achieved. We are engaged in a global competition with the best European clubs. But our partners in Doha are also aware of our beliefs.
“We talk about these matters confidentially, and trust continues to grow with every conversation. That is the most important prerequisite for change.”
Bayern have completed a six-day winter break training camp in Qatar, a regular event in their season’s itinery, before returning to their league season. They are currently a massive 16 points ahead of nearest rival Bayer 04 Leverkusen going into match day 20 of their season this weekend.
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