Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
It’s not just a matter of frenzy in search of a soccer world champion, a title world Cup Qatar 2022 has also been dragged into a number of geopolitical issues that are currently unfolding.
Starting with allegations of human rights violations by Qatari landlords, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender campaigns (LGBT), allegations of racism, disputes between countries have been transferred to this quadrennial sports tournament.
Below are some political incidents that have dragged into the 2022 Qatar World Cup:
1. Alleged human rights violations
Then came the allegations of human rights violations against Qatar The Guardian released a report that revealed that more than 6,500 migrant workers from five countries have died in Qatar since the country was expected to host the 2022 World Cup. The thousands of workers are suspected to have died in Cup-related infrastructure projects of the 2022 world.
The data was collected from various sources of the migrant workers’ home governments, namely India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Referring to the report, thousands of workers died in Qatar in the 10 years from 2010 to 2020.
During that time, Qatar was carrying out major construction projects to prepare for the World Cup, including seven new stadiums. Qatar is also building a number of other infrastructure such as airports, roads, public transport systems, hotels, towards a new city.
2. The upheaval of Iran
A wave of refusals by the Iranian national team to participate in the World Cup has erupted after the Middle Eastern country was hit by massive demonstrations following the death of Mahsa Amini.
Mahsa Amini is a 22-year-old woman who died last September while in the custody of the Iranian morality police. Amini was arrested by the morality police after being convicted of wearing hijab not according to the regulations.
Many countries in the world have asked Iran to be removed from the 2022 world football party. One of them is Ukraine, which insists on replacing Iran.
3. The Iranian national team ‘opposes’ the Khamenei regime
Despite pressure for Iran not to participate in the World Cup, the Persian stars will still compete in the 2022 World Cup.
A rare moment also occurred in the Iranian national team’s opening match at the 2022 World Cup against England last week. In the opening match, the Iranian national team refused to sing the national anthem. The move was made by the Iranian national team as a form of opposition to the regime of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Furthermore, the Iranian national team took this bold step as a symbol of support for the protesters fighting for justice for Mahsa Amini and Iranian women in general.
The move infuriated Tehran. The Iranian army threatens the national team to sing the national anthem in today’s match, Tuesday (29/11).
Otherwise, their families will be imprisoned and tortured. Threats also apply if players take part in political protests against the regime in Tehran.
In the aftermath of that action, the national team was also closely watched by military forces who infiltrated the spectators.
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