Lahm is boycotting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and making demands on DFB stars
Created: 08/08/2022, 14:22
By: Christoph Klaucke
Philipp Lahm does not want to fly to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.
The EM tournament boss explains his boycott with the human rights situation in the desert emirate.
Munich – The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is the football highlight of the year.
The tournament in the desert emirate is getting closer and closer - some critics would say it's threateningly close.
If a World Cup in the middle of winter with the final on December 18th (all dates in the overview) was still reasonably manageable just a few days before Christmas, the difficult human rights situation in Qatar weighs heavily on the mood.
This is also the case with Philipp Lahm, who is very happy to forgo a trip to the desert.
World Cup 2022: Philipp Lahm skips his trip to Qatar
"I'm not part of the delegation and I'm not keen on flying there as a fan," said the 2014 world champion in an interview with
kicker
.
"I'd rather follow the tournament from home." Lahm, who is responsible as tournament director for the home European Championship 2024, is highly critical of the organization of the major event in Qatar.
That is why the former captain of FC Bayern Munich and honorary captain of the national team demands: “Human rights should play the biggest role in tournament allocation.
If a country is awarded the contract that scores among the worst in this respect, you start to think about the criteria that were used to make the decision.”
Philipp Lahm will not fly to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.
© Nico Herbertz/Imago
Qatar has been criticized for human rights violations, and women and other minorities are systematically oppressed in the emirate.
Thousands of deaths are said to have occurred on the construction sites for the World Cup venues, and there are also said to be “slave-like conditions”.
Lahm criticizes the award of the World Cup to Qatar – and takes DFB stars to task
In addition to the human rights situation, the issues of sustainability and the size of the country "apparently played no role" in the award, said Lahm.
also read
Dog interrupts international match – because he wants to be petted
Nico Schulz "denies the allegations": BVB publishes a statement on the ad
For the 38-year-old, it is imperative that the German DFB stars should make critical comments about the event during the World Cup (November 21 to December 18).
"As a player," he said, "you can't get around it anymore."
Who has graduation?
The school education of the Bayern stars
View photo gallery
Lahm at EM 2024: No Beckenbauer helicopter
When it comes to sustainability, Lahm himself wants to set a good example.
As tournament director of the EM 2024, he wants to do without a helicopter, in contrast to "Kaiser" Franz Beckenbauer, who flew across the country from game to game as World Cup OC boss in 2006.
"It just wouldn't fit in with the times anymore.
That's not a criticism of Franz at all, who we all celebrated back then for being at every game.
I could totally understand that back then, today it would be different,” explained Lahm.
"Apart from that: I'm not much of a helicopter fan anyway." Incidentally, the World Cup final will not take place in Munich, but in Berlin.
(ck/dpa)
