In an interview with Sky News in Doha, Nasser Al-Khater, CEO of Qatar 2022, covered several topics around the organization of the next World Cup (November 20 - December 18) which is so decried in terms of human rights. man or climate.
And slipped that persistent criticism of the tournament could be considered racist…
"It's a sports tournament that people want to come and enjoy," said the head of the organizing committee.
Turning it into a platform for political demands, I don't think that's good for sport.
For him, the federations which claim compensation for migrant workers should rather “focus on their team”.
Several European countries have expressed their concerns about this and denounced the lack of compensation.
“A lot of people talking about this issue of worker welfare aren't industry experts,” he says.
And they are not experts on what they are talking about…”
Nasser Al Khater💬: “Qatar is always the victim of rumours.
Everyone is free to think what they want.
Many criticisms are unfair and baseless.
We have worked hard over the past 10 years and we are very happy with the developments.
pic.twitter.com/yayddjTOC7
— Footballogue⭐️⭐️ (@Footballogue) September 8, 2022
Ten captains from European nations (the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, England and Wales) have planned to sport a 'One Love' armband to show their support for the LGBT+ community in a country where homosexuality is illegal.
“It is FIFA who will have to decide while warning against the “political messages” of the teams”, replies the Qatari leader.
Harry Kane, the England captain, has already warned that he will ignore a possible ban.
According to Nasser Al-Khater, who announces that 95% of the tickets have been sold, gay supporters will be welcome and will be able to “unfurl the rainbow flags”.
In addition, special areas will be set up to allow fans who are a little too drunk to discover.
As a reminder, the sale of beers will be authorized around the stadiums three hours before the World Cup matches.
The authorization will be valid until one hour after the meetings.
The sale of alcohol (outside the VIP area) remains prohibited (outside the VIP area) inside the eight stadiums that will host the competition and the consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited on public roads in Qatar.