FIFA has written to World Cup teams urging them to focus on football in Qatar and not let the sport be dragged into ideological or political “battles”.
The letter from FIFA President Gianni Infantino and FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura comes amid a series of protests by World Cup teams over issues ranging from LGBTIQ rights to concerns over the treatment of workers. immigrants.
“Please, let’s now focus on football!” Infantino and Samoura said in the letter to the 32 nations vying for the World Cup, according to Sky News.
“We know that football does not live in a vacuum and we are equally aware that there are many challenges and difficulties of a political nature around the world. But please don’t let football be dragged into every ideological or political battle there is.”
FIFA did not immediately comment when contacted by Reuters.
The World Cup, the first held in the Middle East, starts on November 20th.
“If Gianni Infantino wants the world to ‘focus on football,’ there is a simple solution: FIFA can finally start to address serious human rights issues instead of sweeping them under the rug,” said Steve Cockburn, head of football. Amnesty International’s economic and social justice statement.
Amnesty and other human rights groups have spearheaded calls for FIFA to compensate migrant workers in Qatar for human rights abuses.
Qatar has acknowledged that there are “gaps” in its labor system, but that the World Cup has allowed the country to advance workers’ rights.
*Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne, additional reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru
Source: CNN Brasil
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