FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has defended the controversial World Cup candidate Saudi Arabia and apparently makes no distinctions among the member countries of the world football association. Each of the 211 FIFA member countries has the right to apply. “For me as FIFA President, North Korea is the same as South Korea. “America is the same as China,” Infantino told the Tagesanzeiger from Switzerland.
Saudi Arabia is the only bidder for the 2034 World Cup, after only candidates from Asia and Oceania were admitted due to the allocation for 2026 and 2030. “A venue must meet all of our criteria, including human rights. The process doesn’t end with the candidacy. “It only begins then,” says Infantino, who complains about “double standards in the West”: “All Western heads of state court the country. They make deals worth billions.” A few weeks ago, Infantino sold the awarding of the World Cup to Saudi Arabia as “perfect” in a post on Instagram.
The Swiss believes that football can bring about change in the country. He is also in contact with the Saudi crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed Bin Salman: “I address grievances and also offer help. People discuss and look for solutions together. When I became FIFA president, there was no women’s football in Saudi Arabia. Now there is a women’s league and a national team.”
Advertisement | Scroll to continue reading
After the Qatar World Cup: “FIFA is heading into the next human rights disaster”
The most controversial World Cup in history began on November 20, 2022. A year after the finals in Qatar, the criticism has not stopped. “FIFA is heading into the next human rights disaster,” Germany director Wenzel Michalski of Human Rights Watch (HRW) told SID, referring to the almost certain awarding of the 2034 World Cup by the world association to Qatar’s big neighbor Saudi Arabia: “That is a mockery. Anyone who believed that FIFA was serious about this and was a serious organization must now feel like they have been taken for a ride. Saudi Arabia is worse than Qatar in many ways.”
Large parts of the world were already embarrassed on December 18, 2022. When Qatar’s Emir gave Argentine World Cup captain Lionel Messi the traditional men’s robe after the final of the 22nd final round, the appropriation of football by a state was perfect. The spectacle, which cost Qatar over 200 billion euros, was garnished by Gianni Infantino. The FIFA boss certified that the host had organized the “best World Cup in history”.
“It’s a terrible stain on FIFA’s history”
Human rights organizations such as HRW and Amnesty International (AI) see things very differently a year later. Human rights violations are still the order of the day and promised labor law reforms have largely not been implemented. “The World Cup was a catastrophe for football, for the players, for the fans and for the guest workers,” said HRW director Minky Worden: “It is a terrible stain in the history of FIFA.”
But, according to Worden, the world governing body has “not learned its lesson”: “The possibility that FIFA will award Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup, despite the country having an appalling human rights record and a lack of control, exposes FIFA’s human rights commitments Eyewash.” According to the British Times, the world association is currently negotiating a sponsorship deal worth millions with the Saudi oil giant Aramco.
2023-12-16 21:19:11
#FIFA #boss #Gianni #Infantino #North #Korea #South #Korea
