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Louis van Gaal
Photo:
KOEN VAN WEEL v EPO
Qatar reacted unusually harshly to Dutch national coach Louis van Gaal's criticism of the World Cup being awarded to the emirate.
"For someone who has been around for so many years and understands the power of football, it's ridiculous to make such a meaningless statement," said World Cup boss Hassan al-Thawadi at beIN Sports.
Van Gaal had called the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar "ridiculous".
The world association FIFA exclusively pursues financial and commercial interests, the talk of development is "bullshit," said van Gaal on Tuesday.
He is certain, said al-Thawadi, that van Gaal "didn't take much time" to understand the importance of football for Qatar and the Arab world.
"Matchless"
In view of the passion of the people there, for example during the Arab Cup 2021, it is "not a ridiculous idea that an Arab nation is hosting the World Cup".
Qatar have demonstrated an "unparalleled" passion for football and "unparalleled" ability to host major events.
The Arab world deserves to be in the spotlight, they have worked hard for it and will not apologize for it.
Most recently, the human rights organization Amnesty International described in a report how superficially and insufficiently the reforms in Qatar are still being implemented, monitored and complied with, despite the award of the World Cup to the emirate.
The organization even notes that there have been steps backwards in labor law, and “practices that violate human rights” have also resurfaced.
"In fact, the situation for many migrant workers has hardly improved," the authors write in their report a year before the start of the World Cup.
The first soccer World Cup in the Arab world will be played from November 21st to December 18th.
On Tuesday (8.45 p.m.) van Gaal and his team meet Germany in a friendly in Amsterdam.
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