German FA opposes boycotting Qatar World Cup, says its president
The HinduThe German Football Association is opposed to boycotting the 2022 World Cup but will get behind the national football team in pledging support for the rights of migrant workers in Qatar, the governing body’s president Fritz Keller said on Friday. Germany lined up before kickoff in its opening World Cup qualifier against Iceland in Duisburg on Thursday wearing shirts displaying the message “HUMAN RIGHTS.” Norway staged a similar protest on Wednesday ahead of its match in Gibraltar when its players wore T-shirts with the message: “Human rights, on and off the pitch.” The initiatives come in the wake of a report by British newspaper The Guardian that said its calculations showed at least 6,500 migrant workers had died in Qatar since the country won the right to stage the 2022 World Cup 10 years ago. RELATED | Germany, England, Italy win but Spain held in World Cup qualifying The DFB echoed the German government position earlier on Friday when a spokesman told reporters “the national team is a good part of Germany and therefore it is good when they commit to the values of our liberal democracy.” Keller added: “We must stand up for our values, which are written in our statutes, and let our voices be heard at all times. This is what the national players have drawn attention to.” On Thursday, a representative of the Qatari World Cup organisers said they had “always been transparent about the health and safety of workers.” “Since construction began in 2014, there have been three work-related fatalities and 35 non-work-related deaths,” the representative added.