It is a speech that will make a date. On Thursday, the Australian national football team became the first selection qualified for the competition to openly and collectively criticize Qatar on the respect of human rights, denouncing the “suffering” of the workers who accompanied the organization of the 2022 World Cup in the gas emirate. Sixteen members of the team, which is in the France group as well as Denmark and Tunisia, nicknamed the “Socceroos”, appeared in a short video explaining their position.
“For the past two years, we have devoted ourselves to understanding and getting to know the situation in Qatar better,” explain the players, speaking in turn. “We are not experts, but we have listened to organizations such as Amnesty (International), Fifa, the International Labor Organisation, FIFPRo” and, “more importantly, foreign workers in Qatar”.
The video is accompanied by a statement from the Football Federation of Australia (FFA). “We recognize the significant progress and legislative reforms that have taken place in Qatar in recent years to recognize and protect workers’ rights, and we encourage all actors to continue on this path of reform,” writes the FFA.
More tolerance for LGBTQ people
“However, we have also learned that the tournament has been associated with the suffering of migrant workers and their families and this cannot be ignored,” the federation continues. Football Australia has also urged the tiny gas emirate to show more tolerance for same-sex relationships, which are currently illegal in Qatar.
“As our country’s most multicultural, diverse and inclusive sport, we believe everyone should be able to feel safe and free to be themselves,” Football Australia said. In addition, the captains of a number of European nations – including England, France and Germany – will wear rainbow armbands with the message “One Love” during the World Cup. as part of an anti-LGBT discrimination campaign.