QATAR: FIFA president Gianni Infantino has lashed out at what he described as “hypocrisy” and “racism” from countries moralizing about the Qatar World Cup. Infantino claimed Europe should be “apologizing for the next 3,000 years” for past mistakes.
Infantino stated that, given Qatar’s past and present behavior, western countries were in no position to lecture the country on morality in a 57-minute tirade that regularly elicited gasps of surprise.
Infantino dismissed worries that LGBTQ+ supporters may be in danger in a nation where homosexuals faced the possibility of torture and incarceration. He asserted that Qatar had transformed workers’ rights beyond recognition with the assistance of Fifa.
However, Infantino seemed to imply at the beginning of his address that because of his upbringing as the son of Italian immigrants in Switzerland, he had a profound knowledge of migrant workers and other minorities in Qatar.
The 52-year-old then asserted that Qatar could advance in many areas just as Switzerland has.
The removal of the kafala system, the introduction of a minimum wage, and the implementation of heat protections, among other measures, were all cited as Fifa’s contributions to improving the situation for migrant workers. The Kafala system earlier bound workers to employers.
In 2017, it was reported that since World Cup preparations got underway, at least 6,500 migrant laborers passed away in Qatar.
Infantino, however, argued that these critiques were unjustified because 25,000 migrants have actually lost their lives trying to enter Europe since 2014.
Unbelievably, he also dismissed the stadium alcohol ban that was implemented two days before the tournament’s start and that on Friday threw sponsors and FIFA officials into a frenzy. He joked, “I think if for three hours a day you cannot drink a beer, you will survive.”
Also Read: Multiple World Cup Sponsors Are Worried about Their Contracts after Qatar’s Alcohol Ban
