Rafa Nadal: “Everyone should have freedom of expression at the World Cup”

Rafael Nadal it said it was Thursday everyone “shall have freedom of expression” to show their feelings at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, in relation to FIFA’s ban on the display of “political symbols” such as the flag of the LGTBI+ community.

“We are in a global world where people should have more and more rights. Everyone should have the freedom to express their feelings, as long as they don’t hurt others,” said the tennis player at a conference in Santiago de Chile.

However, Nadal pointed out that the goal of the World Cup should be soccer: “Sport is a place to express yourself, because it has global exposure at the media level, but, above all, For me, the important thing is that we play football”.

“The decisions that FIFA makes or doesn’t make may seem better or worse to me, but in the end they are policies and attitudes that they want to make in their event. Others should be free to express their themselves and show their disagreement, as is already happening,” he added.

FIFA has banned soccer players from displaying “political signs” during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a controversial decision in response to criticism of the lack of labor rights for people who worked on the construction sites of tournament stadiums or the country’s harsh laws against the LGTBI+ collective.

On Sunday, FIFA denied England, Wales, Switzerland, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium the chance to wear the rainbow armband with the motto “One Love”.

The banning of these symbols caused severe criticism of the organization of the competition, which materialized in protests such as that of the German team, whose players covered their mouths with one hand in the photo before their debut match in tournament.