Status: 09.11.2022 12:32 p.m
Being gay as mental damage – this statement by a Qatari World Cup ambassador is causing new discussions ahead of the tournament. Justice Minister Buschmann condemned the attitude. National player Goretzka also became clear.
Dubious circumstances surrounding the awarding of the World Cup, dead workers during stadium construction, restricted human rights: the football World Cup in Qatar continues to cause discussions. Most recently, anti-gay statements by a World Cup ambassador caused outrage. Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann reacted to this and reminded Qatar of the security guarantees for fans during the tournament. “Homosexuality is not a disease. Anyone who invites the world to a sports festival should have realized this long ago,” said Buschmann on ZDF.
“If we want real international understanding, then all people must be accepted as they are – no matter what gender they are and who they love.” Equal freedom and equal dignity are important values in sport. “Unfortunately, we have to realize that none of this can be taken for granted in 2022 either,” said Buschmann.
The whirlwind was triggered by statements by Khalid Salman, who is one of the official ambassadors for the tournament, which begins on November 20 in Qatar. In a ZDF documentary, he said that being gay was forbidden because it was mentally harmful.
These statements also caused a lack of understanding among footballers: “It’s very oppressive, I have to say. It’s just a human image from another millennium,” said national player Leon Goretzka. “That’s not what we want to stand for and what we live by example. It is absolutely unacceptable to make such a statement.”
Bayern player Goretzka has been critical of the World Cup in Qatar in the past. However, his club advertises the national airline of Qatar and earns a lot of money from it.
Image: AP
Salihamidzic: “Simply unacceptable”
Bayern sports director Hasan Salihamidzic also distanced himself from the statements and called them “simply unacceptable”. When asked whether such statements could influence FC Bayern’s calculations regarding the cooperation with Qatar Airways, Salihamidzic was reluctant. “That’s the statement of a single person. We have to talk about that, of course,” he said.
The sponsorship relationship with Qatar is a controversial topic among Bayern fans. Those responsible for the club had stated that after the World Cup they wanted to decide whether to extend the cooperation until the summer of 2023. Banners clearly criticizing the statements made by the Qatar World Cup ambassador were displayed in the Bayern fan block during the game against Bremen.
Other club representatives also reacted to the statements made by the World Cup ambassador. After Salman’s homophobic statements, you can’t just go back to business as usual, said Stuttgart’s CEO Alexander Wehrle on Sky TV. He called on the ethics committee of the world football association FIFA to take decisive action against World Cup ambassador Salman. “Equating a sexual orientation with a mental illness is far removed from any idea that we have here in our cultural circle,” Wehrle said. “The World Cup hosts gave us a very clear signal, also through FIFA, that every football fan, regardless of their sexual orientation, will have a safe experience there,” said Wehrle, who is openly gay, with a view to the beginning of November 20th Competition. “The hosts have to be measured by that and we have to have confidence in that.”
Human Rights Watch demands payments for survivors
The human rights organization Human Rights Watch also holds FIFA accountable. The association must take responsibility for the workers involved in building the World Cup infrastructure in Qatar. “At FIFA, you can’t just say: If the government doesn’t cooperate, we’ll evade responsibility,” said Germany director Wenzel Michalski to the editorial network Germany. “It’s not just about the deaths during the construction of the stadium, but also about the construction of the infrastructure for the World Cup,” emphasized Michalski. “It’s not just a moral obligation, it’s a legal obligation. The employer must pay for the families of employees who have died or are now unable to work.” Together with Amnesty International, the human rights organization is demanding a payment of 440 million euros.
For the first time, a football World Cup will be held in the Gulf state in winter. Sepp Blatter, who was president of the world football association FIFA during the award decision in 2010, now also considers Qatar’s election to be a mistake. “Qatar is a mistake, the election was bad,” Blatter told the Swiss “Tages-Anzeiger”.