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National soccer coach Hansi Flick at a Nations League game in June 2022
Photo:
MARTON MONUS / REUTERS
National coach Hansi Flick regrets the negative effects of the controversial World Cup in Qatar (November 20 to December 18).
"Basically, I think it's a shame that this tournament won't be a World Cup for fans," said the 57-year-old in an interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau and the editorial network Germany (RND).
According to Flick, he has many acquaintances "who would like to fly to Qatar, but choose not to for a variety of reasons".
They couldn't afford the massive prices, the situation for homosexuals, for example, was unacceptable, and there were human rights violations because minorities were being excluded.
»Football should be there for everyone.
That's why I say: It's not a World Cup for the normal fan," explained Flick.
Qatar has long been a sensitive issue for the DFB
A political statement by the national team in Qatar is "a challenge for everyone involved," said Flick.
And further: “We have already had many discussions to inform the team as best as possible.
We will sit down again in September and consider what we can and want to do, possibly together with other nations and teams.”
Dealing with Qatar and human rights has long been a sensitive issue for the German Football Association (DFB).
It was only at the beginning of June that an incident on the sidelines of the Nations League game against Italy caused a stir.
At the start of the game, fans posted a banner calling for a boycott of the Qatar World Cup because of the human rights situation.
They were then briefly detained by the police, probably at the request of the DFB.
In June, the "Sportschau" also reported that workers at the real estate company that owns the World Cup base for the German national team in Qatar are said to have been exploited.
At the same time, the DFB presented itself several times as an advocate of human rights.
Last year, the DFB team wore black shirts with the inscription "Human Rights" in the World Cup qualifier against Iceland.
At the training camp in Herzogenaurach, the team learned about the situation in the World Cup host country from presentations.
Most recently, team manager Oliver Bierhoff said in a SPIEGEL interview that they would stand up for their values and not prevent player protests.
He also warned, however, that "there shouldn't be a race for good actions."
The DFB had always rejected a boycott of the event.
Human rights violations have repeatedly been an issue since the World Cup was awarded to Qatar.
In recent years there have been repeated investigations by the media and human rights organizations that have reported blatant abuses for guest workers in the country.
Legislative reforms initiated by the government are therefore still not sufficiently implemented or controlled.
The problematic situation of women and the LGBT+ community in the country is also repeatedly pointed out.
ara/sid