April 9 – Germany’s new Development Minister is the latest politician to call on FIFA to strip Qatar of hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup, the first member of Angela Merkel’s cabinet to do so.
Until now, English members of parliament have been at the forefront of the political campaign against Qatar but Gerd Müller (pictured right and not to be confused with ‘der Bomber’) has now jumped on the bandwagon – and not only because of the workers’ rights issue.
Müller told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper that FIFA’s choice was a “misjudgement” and contradicted global efforts to tackle climate change.
“What is that as a signal for worldwide climate protection if stadiums are built in the middle of the desert which then have to be acclimatized with high energy expenditure?,” Müller asked.
But he did not confine his remarks to Qatar, also criticising Brazil for spending a fortune on infrastructure instead of vital social projects this summer.
“It is no longer up-to-date to run a football World Cup elevated over [the needs of] people and to ignore social and ecological standards,” he said.
Using the stadium of Manaus in the Amazon jungle as an example, he added: “There a stadium has been built in the middle of a tropical rainforest, without clarifying [the issue] of sustainability. That is irresponsible.”
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