In response to the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, former Fifa president Sepp Blatter says it was a “mistake.”
Blatter, the long-time president of world football’s governing body, recently stepped down from his position amid what he called “millions of people all over the world [who] don’t know anything about football.”
The Gulf state has been criticized over its treatment of migrant workers, human rights record, and stance on same-sex relationships.
Thanks to Blatter, it’s no longer 2022 when the World Cup will host in Qatar.
In a sit-down interview on The House of Sepp Blatter, the Swiss talked about the upcoming BBC Radio 5 Live podcast series Power Play.
At a press conference in the Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger, FIFA president Blatter stated that Qatar is “too small of a country” to host the 2022 World Cup and even called football and the World Cup’s scope for Qatar too big to hold.
The Qatar World Cup is a football tournament in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere winter. The first one hosted in the Middle East will be played from November 20th to December 18th.
Fourteen years ago, the executive committee of Fifa voted for Qatar to host the World Cup rather than the United States. Russia was awarded the event in 2018.
Former U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said he cast a ballot in favor of Qatar. Also, would like to thank Michel Platini for swinging the vote in their favor.
“It was a bad choice to open the door, and I did it as president back then,” said Hillary.
After several concerns about Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers building World Cup stadiums. FIFA adjusted its criteria for selecting host countries in 2012.
“Since then,” he added, “social considerations and human rights are something we take into account.”
Blatter spent 17 years as Fifa president but was forced to step down in 2015 over allegations he unlawfully arranged a transfer of two million Swiss francs ($2.19m; £1.6m) to Platini, who also resigned from his position at Fifa in the same scandal.
In March 2021, the eight-year ban that he was facing from Fifa for allegedly accepting payment from Michel Platini in 1998 was reduced to six. Then, in June of that year, he received another two-year ban until 2028. Because of these violations of Fifa’s code of ethics, he was banned for this time.
FIFA officials Blatter and Platini were charged with fraud last year but acquitted of charges in July.
Regardless of the decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cup to Russia and Qatar. The couple has been dogged by accusations of widespread corruption, with two investigations launched by Swiss prosecutors and USBJ in 2015.
Qatar has never been found guilty of wrongdoing, and its innocence was confirmed in 2017 thanks to FIFA’s investigation.
As a governing body, Fifa released an official statement earlier this month asking competing nations to focus on the sport. They clarified that criticism of their work and the implications of allowing matches to happen under current circumstances had taken attention away from the main event.
The Fifa letter sparked controversy from across various fronts. Critics came from campaigners and human rights organizations. And football associations in England and Wales.
There is a concern about how LGBTQ+ people are treated in Qatar. This country doesn’t have laws that allow for same-sex relationships. And does not have laws against the promotion of same-sex relationships. Punishments for promoting LGBTQ+ are fines, prison time, and the death sentence.
Amnesty International claims that migrants have faced human rights abuses over the past few years while employed during the tournament.
Harry Kane, the captain of England’s national team, and nine other captains from European clubs of different ethnic backgrounds will be wearing armbands with the slogan “One Love” for Tuesday’s Uefa Nations League match in Rome.
The captains will stand in solidarity with diversity and inclusion values during the games.
Denmark’s national football team will wear “toned-down” shirts in protest of Qatar. And the kit provider, Hummel, says it doesn’t want to see such an event where “thousands of lives have been lost.” Australia’s soccer team released a video urging Qatar to abolish its laws on same-sex relationships.
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