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Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
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ALEXANDER HASSENSTEIN +491728296845 / Getty Images
Former CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is unmoved by protests by Bayern fans against the club's partnership with the emirate of Qatar.
»Bayern Munich has a partnership with Qatar Airways, and I was never a Pharisee there, if I may put it that way.
We got good money from this contract, ”said Rummenigge in an interview with WDR.
At the top Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Munich and SC Freiburg on Saturday, Munich football fans protested with a poster.
Qatar has been accused of human rights violations for years; according to media reports, more than 6,500 migrant workers have died since the 2022 World Cup was awarded to the emirate.
"We wash everything clean for money," read a large banner, among other things.
Bayern fans have been protesting for a long time.
In the host country of the 2022 World Cup, the Munich professionals regularly complete their training camp in winter.
In addition, the Qatari airline Qatar Airways has been a major sponsor of Bavaria for several years.
“You have to basically say that in Qatar of all the Arab states there are currently the best or the greatest improvements in terms of human and labor rights.
It is well known that they do not have a comparable standard to Germany or Europe, «said Rummenigge.
Rummenigge believes in improved rights "through football"
He was "fundamentally optimistic" that human and labor rights in these countries, especially in Qatar, "will also improve through football." For Rummenigge, the main argument for cooperation with Qatar is international competitiveness.
In recent years there has been repeated research by the media and human rights organizations, which reported blatant human rights violations, especially against guest workers in Qatar.
Accordingly, workers were not paid their wages, and passports were confiscated to prevent them from leaving the country.
Accommodation and working conditions were precarious, and there were also the above-mentioned deaths.
According to reports, Qatar has so far only inadequately implemented announced reforms.
ara / dpa