Less than four weeks to the opening of the World Cup in Qatar, the Australian team became the first to participate in the tournament and express a public protest against the organizers' treatment of migrant workers and the LGBT community.
In the three-minute long video, which was distributed on social networks, the 16 players of the national team, including the goalkeeper and the captain, Matt Ryan, appear - as they express their opinion on what is happening in Qatar;
"There are universal values that define football" says Ryan;
"Values like integrity, respect, trust and courage. When we represent our country, these values are important to us."
Australia will play in Group D along with France, Denmark and Tunisia and will open their games against the world champions on November 22.
FIFA's choice of Qatar as the host of the World Cup 12 years ago was controversial because of the Qataris' violation of human rights. Many investigations that were done revealed a very grim picture, according to which thousands of workers were killed during the construction of the stadiums and facilities that would serve the World Cup.
Laborers work in Qatar.
Australia does not forget those who lost their lives along the way,
Over the years, many happy voices were heard against the choice in Qatar, mainly from human rights organizations, journalists, fans, etc.
Within the world of soccer, the protest came mainly from fans, clubs and teams that are not in the tournament, such as Norway, which came to one of its games with a sign in support of the immigrant officials in Qatar.
It was recently reported that the Danish team will go to the tournament with plain shirts that express a protest from the manufacturer, however Australia is the first participant to express a protest in voice and image.
"The immigrant workers who were injured are not just numbers," said one of the team's players, "they are just like the immigrants who helped shape our country and our football. They are brave and determined people who want to build a better life for themselves."
Australia has become the first team to release a group statement criticizing Qatar for its poor human rights record.
Watch their video statement 👇
Read more: https://t.co/J2WsSPfpsw pic.twitter.com/91JKcfkJtE
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 27, 2022
Australians have been dealing with these matters for a long time.
Members of the men's and women's national teams recently met with representatives of FIFA, Amnesty and the leaders of Qatar in order to try and promote processes of improvement. Alex Wilkinson, a Sydney player, says in the video that "these talks led to change on paper and on the ground".
At the same time, Josh Caballo plays in the Australian team, who about a year ago became the first active player to come out of the closet.
Cavallo has since been interviewed many times and each time expressed great concern about the selection of Qatar as the host of the World Cup.
He just recently told CNN;
"It worries me a lot to find out that soon everyone will arrive in a country that discriminates against people like me."
The Australians also addressed this issue in the video, when Dennis Gentro - who played with Caballo in Melbourne City said: "As footballers, we fully support LGBT rights, but in Qatar people still cannot love who they choose to love."
It is important for the Australian players to make it clear in the video that they do not have a solution to all the problems that are flooding this World Cup, but they clarify and remind that these problems need to be addressed and flooded: "We must establish a reception center for immigrants, immediately help all those people who have been stripped of their basic rights," the video says, "We must Stop the discrimination against the beneficiary community because that's the only way to ensure the growth and progress of Qatar. This is the way to make sure that the legacy of the World Cup in 2022 will remain even after the final whistle."
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