The most controversial and unnatural World Cup in history is two weeks away from starting and the contrary voices do not stop. The last and most striking occurred this Saturday in the German soccer stadiums. The fans of the Bundesliga, many of them vindictive in the past denouncing social injustices, asked on the penultimate day before the break to boycott Qatar 2022.
The stands of some stadiums, such as Borussia Dortmund or Hertha Berlin, were filled with giant banners rejecting the emirate from organizing the World Cup for the fact that human rights are not respected and for the exploitation of migrants in the construction of the stadiums. . "15,000 dead for 5,760 minutes of football. Shame", read one of the canvases of the Olympiastadion in the Bavarian capital, where Hertha received the almighty Bayern Munich (2-3).
Also Borussia Dortmund, in the win over Bochum (3-0), flooded Signal Iduna Park with tarpaulins against the World Cup. "Boycott Qatar 2022" or "Disconnect Qatar" were some of the most visual in the südtribüne, one of the liveliest stands on the world football scene.
The initiative, carried out by the Boycott Qatar organization, will be repeated on the following day of the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. "It is not our World Cup," they say, citing various reasons, such as the violation of human rights, suspicion of corruption in the designation, work in inhumane conditions (The Guardian claimed last year that 6,500 migrant workers have died in the construction of the stadiums), the little soccer culture in the country or the criticism for prioritizing business over soccer.
The German football federation (DFB), led by its president Fritz Keller, pointed out in 2019 that playing the World Cup in Qatar was "a bad idea". However, like most of the initiatives known so far from other national teams (bracelets with the LGTBIQ colors, protest kits...) there is no real boycott.
FIFA has insisted in recent days to the federations that will be present at the World Cup not to politicize the event and focus on football. President Gianni Infantino's comment drew a swift reaction from Amnesty International (AI), which called on him to "address human rights issues" related to abuses against migrant workers "instead of sweeping them under the rug."
"If Gianni Infantino wants the world to focus on football, there is a simple solution: FIFA could finally start tackling serious human rights issues instead of sweeping them under the rug," AI Director of Economic Affairs said. and Social Justice, Steve Cockburn.
"A first step would be to publicly commit to establishing a fund to compensate migrant workers before the tournament begins and to ensure that LGBTI people do not face discrimination or harassment (...) it is surprising that they have not done so yet" Cockburn added.
Likewise, he considered that "Gianni Infantino is right to say that football does not exist in a vacuum (...) hundreds of thousands of workers have suffered abuses to make this tournament possible and their rights cannot be forgotten or dismissed (... ) deserve justice and compensation, not empty words."
In addition to AI, other human rights organizations are pressing Qatar and FIFA to create a reparation fund to compensate thousands of migrant employees who suffered "serious abuse" during the preparations for the World Cup.
The NGOs do acknowledge, albeit partially, the labor and social reforms introduced by the Qatari authorities in recent years. At the same time, they criticize that these reforms came too late.
