On the eve of the start of the 2022 World Cup, Qatar is mired in scandals

Less than a month is left before the start of the World Cup in Qatar. About 1.2 million fans from all over the world are going to come to the emirate, according to the organizers. Preparations for the international sports tournament are taking place against the backdrop of an unprecedented wave of scandals that are gaining momentum every day. “MK” tells the details of the latest of them.

Human rights organizations, football associations participating in the competition, the players themselves and even the governments of countries whose teams will go to Qatar at the end of November have been talking more and more lately not about football, but about human rights violations in the emirate.

It even got to the point that one of the kits of the Danish national team will be completely black. As MK wrote, according to the Danes and from the official outfitting company, this will symbolize the desire to remain inconspicuous in a country that does not respect “Western social values”. At the same time, the Danes do not refuse a trip to the World Cup. But representatives of the governments of a number of other European countries refuse to go there and support their players.

The number of accusations and various political actions became so great that the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, was even forced to give a long television interview on October 25. In his opinion, Qatar has faced unprecedented criticism after it won the bid to host the World Cup. And some of this criticism is essentially slander. Deliberately distributed by certain groups to denigrate both the country itself and the football festival held in it.

“At first we approached this issue in good faith,” Sheikh Tamim said in a televised speech. Adding that some of the early criticism was constructive. But then, according to the emir, the campaign against Qatar expanded and “included fabrications and double standards that were so cruel, even cruel, that, unfortunately, led many people to question the real reasons and motives for holding the championship.”

According to Sheikh Tamim, hosting the World Cup was “a big test for a country the size of Qatar.”

“We took on this challenge because of our belief in our potential, we Qataris are ready to rise to the challenge and succeed. This is a championship for everyone, and its success is a success for everyone. The World Cup will allow Qatar to demonstrate its economic and institutional strength and cultural identity,” he said.

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also noted that Doha has made reforms, including reorganizing and harmonizing rules to protect workers from the heat, and raising the minimum monthly wage by 1,000 rials ($275). It also continues to develop its labor protection system by setting a maximum working time of 60 hours a week and introducing a mandatory day off.

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The fears and indignation of the Emir of Qatar, like many Qataris, are understandable. It is worth recognizing that many actions in support of the allegedly abused workers who built stadiums in Qatar, as well as other people involved in the preparation and holding of the championship, have long gone beyond the bounds of decency and common sense. Sometimes one gets the impression that we are witnessing a kind of competition, who will hit Qatar more offensively and more painfully among the numerous newly-minted defenders of rights and freedoms.

Moreover, various promotions are already taking place daily. Simultaneously with the speech of the ruler of the country, on October 25, the famous LGBT veteran, Englishman Peter Gary Tatchell, tripled a solo picket in Doha near the National Museum of Qatar. He unfurled a poster that spoke of the mistreatment of homosexuals in this country. An hour later, the police approached him, took away the poster, photographed Tatchell’s passport, shook his hand and left. Leaving the activist standing on the sidewalk.

Western media immediately wrote about the detention of the Englishman, some of them even used the epithet “cruel”, but this was not true. The Qatari government’s public affairs office said the man was not arrested or detained, but simply asked “cordially and professionally” to move to another location.

“The rumors on social media about Tatchell’s arrest in Qatar are completely false and baseless,” the statement said.

The topic of alleged mistreatment of gay people in Qatar is second only to accusations of brutality against workers in Qatar. At the same time, the organizers of the championship have repeatedly stated that they will be glad to all the fans. regardless of their sexual orientation or origin. Although it is recommended to refrain from public displays of affection. Still, local customs must also be respected.

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Do not lag behind civil activists and football unions of the countries participating in the championship. Also expressing deep concern about the violation of rights and freedoms.

The French Football Federation (FFF), again on October 25, reported that it had done a lot of work to ensure compliance with the conditions of work of service providers for its team at the World Cup. This check came after an investigation by French central broadcaster France Télévisions into migrant workers in Qatar.

During the inspection tour from 18 to 20 October, FFF was able to meet with the managers of the subcontractors working at the base camp of the national team and “visit the places where their employees are located.” As the French proudly state in a press release, their federation was able to “ensure that the various companies operating in the base camp of the French national team (…) comply with the latest social and labor law reforms in Qatar.” can be read in the press release.

“The FFF will closely monitor the observance of social and human rights until the end of the championship,” the French federation warns, adding that even before this check, the security company chosen for the Blues’ base camp was dismissed “due to non-compliance with social and human rights.” Without specifying the truth at the same time, whether her team will be able to withdraw from their group in the playoffs of the tournament.

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Leaving aside all the particulars of various scandals and claims against the authorities of Qatar, we can state the following with concern – football is increasingly turning from a game we all love into an arena for various political actions and events. Precisely because football is loved and watched by a large part of the population of our planet, any such event is guaranteed to attract great public attention. And this is more and more shamelessly used by various people and associations for self-promotion and achieving their dubious goals. Not without reason, back in 1900, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote in his book “The Boer War”: “In a free country, the government has no right to ignore public opinion, and public opinion is influenced by the press and reflected in newspaper articles.”

It will be very disappointing if various political shows completely destroy interest in football. In any case, the World Cup in Qatar can already safely be called the most scandalous tournament in the history of these competitions. And the fault of its organizers, the government of Qatar, is minimal.