Bayer Leverkusen turned the most recent Bundesliga membership to criticize the World Cup in Qatar, describing the nation’s resolution to award the match as “reprehensible” on Tuesday.
“The World Cup should never have been awarded to Qatar,” Leverkusen mentioned in a press release. “According to FIFA’s personal audit report, it was the least appropriate of all purposes to host the World Cup. Of the eight new World Cup stadiums, seven had been newly-built initiatives. Football tradition doesn’t exist in Qatar. From our standpoint, that is the knockout standards for a potential internet hosting of the World Cup.
Leverkusen’s assertion echoes the extensively reported problems with homophobia, lack of freedom of expression and denial of girls’s rights, in addition to these endured by migrant staff in Qatar because the nation prepares to host the 32-team match. “Unacceptable working conditions” are additionally talked about.
Leverkusen CEO Fernando Caro mentioned: “The award of this tournament will appropriately associate this World Cup with questions that were ignored 12 years ago on the human rights situation, equality and freedom of expression in the host country.” Caro, who can also be a board member of the European Club Association, will journey to Qatar in December for a board assembly to debate the problems raised. “We now need to work towards making the award criteria more transparent for the World Cup in the future. I will campaign for that,” mentioned Caro.
The membership mentioned it could report on its gamers and their achievements on the World Cup. “We believe that the players cannot be held responsible for the award of the competition to Qatar 12 years ago. Accordingly, they have our respect, our support,” Leverkusen mentioned.
League rivals Borussia Monchengladbach and Hoffenheim had beforehand criticized the match. Gladbach mentioned it could give it solely minimal protection of its personal gamers, whereas Hoffenheim mentioned it could drop protection in protest in opposition to “human rights violations and discrimination against homosexuals in the autocratic Gulf state”. In the weeks earlier than the Bundesliga’s winter break, followers staged widespread protests in opposition to the match in German stadiums.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
