Ibai Llanos, Rod Stewart, Dua Lipa, footballers the size of Toni Kroos, fans…
Qatar is only days away from the center of the universe. On November 20, the World Cup will begin and it will host millions of fans of all colors, of opposing ideas, of different origins… The most surprising thing is that this worries the local authorities. The Qataris are very conservative and have a culture that despises women and condemns homosexuality, for example with sentences of up to five years in prison.
Despite this attack on human rights and allegations of fraud in the election of the venue, FIFA gave the green light to Qatari petrodollars. In recent months, protests have increased from all walks of life, including from various football federations. For example, Denmark will go to the World Cup with a shirt on which the country’s emblems are indistinguishable (they do not want to be linked to it), England will wear a rainbow bracelet… These reactions are partly inspired by statements such as those of Khalid Salman , championship ambassador. When he talked about homosexuality, he brought up the term ‘haram’. Asked specifically about its meaning, the Qatari ambassador replied forcefully: “I am not a strict Muslim, but it is a mental aberration.”
The controversies continued day after day. The truth is that since work began on the major infrastructure needed to host the championship, nearly 6,500 migrants have lost their lives, according to The Guardian. So singers like Rod Stewart and Dua Lipa, football players like Toni Kroos, coaches and fans, or celebrities like Ibai Llanos have decided to boycott the event.
Most prominent people in the football world:
Why do footballers speak so highly of Qatar? It is one of the questions asked by most football fans living in countries with full democracies where human rights are respected. The answer was given by the expert in social anthropology Alberto del Campo Tejedor in an article that appeared in this newspaper last Thursday: “Petrodollars buy silence and promote flattering speeches with a country far from democratic standards.”
There are clear examples, such as Beckham, named World Cup ambassador, or stars like Xavi or Guardiola. When Xabi coached Al-Saad, he stated that Qatar outperformed Spain. Here there were “political prisoners” like Junqueras. While the Qatari emirate offered peace and security. “People are happy,” he even said. Guardiola, who was appointed ambassador of the Qatari candidacy in his time, also confirmed that “people have freedom” there.
In football, however, there are more faces that have chosen to boycott or protest the choice of Qatar as the World Cup venue. Germany, England and the Northern European countries are the most critical. world champions like
Tony Kroos or
Philippe Lahm They already regretted the choice. “Immigrants work in unacceptable conditions, at 50ºC and with insufficient food,” denounced the Real Madrid footballer, who had already retired from the German team.
In Europe in general, the rainbow bracelet campaign is already triumphing. The captains of England, Germany, France, Denmark – who will also wear a shirt without advertising in protest – Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland will wear the colors that the LGTBI collective in representing Qatar. Spain will not join this movement for the time being.
And from the football players to the coaches. Most national and premier league coaches have opted for silence, but others have not bit their tongues. It’s the case of
George Sampaolithe current Sevilla coach, who stated that the choice of Qatar as the venue was “for money (money) and for business”.
The Liverpool coach has moved on.
Jurgen Klopp He self-criticized: “There have been many opportunities to expose them, but many people have made money for the wrong reasons. We are all guilty.” The Dutch coach and former Barça coach
Louis van Gaal He proposed creating a compensation fund of more than 400 million euros for the families of the workers who died in the construction of the stadiums.
The fans are the other leg supporting the World Cup, and a significant portion of them disagree. At least in Germany, where according to public television ARD, half of the viewers will get a ‘blackout’. In this country, two of the most impactful fans in Europe, such as those of Borussia Dortmund or Bayern Munich, have already expressed their disapproval of the World Cup celebrations in Qatar and have asked the rest of the fans to join in the ‘eclipse’.
In Norway, Rosenborg fans staged a mosaic showing current FIFA president Gianni Infantino shaking hands with an Arab sheikh. The banner features dozens of graves, referring to the dead migrant workers, and the words ‘Boycott Qatar 2022’.
The protests extend to celebrities outside of football:
Rod Stewart was chosen to perform at the opening ceremony of the World Cup, but the British singer’s ‘principles’ outweighed the million dollars the sheiks put on the table. Shakira will be his deputy.
The sit-ins in the music world go beyond those starring Rod Stewart. Dua Lipa has not even considered performing at the opening ceremony and has even stated that she will not travel to Qatar until they respect human rights.
The profession of “streamers” is quite recent, but its impact on society is brutal. The ‘youtubers’, ‘influencers’, ‘streamers’ and others are also invited to Qatar. Local authorities know its potential and reach in young people and don’t want to waste that cartridge. But not everything will come. The Spaniard Ibai Llanos, the most famous in our country, publicly rejected his participation: “It’s not in my balls to go and I’m not going to.” And by the way, he invited his Internet colleagues to join the rejection.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
