German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan calling on the football public to put an end to the relative political hubbub World Cup 2022, starting from LGBT issues, Racism, to human rights.
Gundogan’s request came shortly after a number of Qataris responded to criticism over the silence of the German national team, responding negatively to a ban on LGBT campaigning issued by FIFA and the organizers of the World Cup.
Qatari fans used posters of Mesut Ozil, which warned against racism against Muslim players of the German national team.
“Right now it’s all about football, having fun and celebrating, so that’s the most important thing,” Gundogan said as quoted by Sport1 on Monday (28/11)
Gundogan stressed that currently the German national team no longer thinks about political issues as they focus on watching the match in front of their eyes.
However Gundogan had revealed the reasons why his colleagues were protesting ‘shut up’ after FIFA did not allow them to wear the ‘One Love’ armband.
“Some of our players were angry at FIFA, because it was clear that things were planned by the team. The armband was canceled just before the match, some players were disappointed and frustrated. They wanted to show something,” said Gundogan .
“We had discussions as a team and finally it was agreed that we will make this move against FIFA. If you do something, you do it as a team,” he continued.
However, Gundogan personally stated that political affairs were now over. The Manchester City midfielder said the German side are focused on the crucial match against Costa Rica.
“To be honest, my view is now that politics is over,” he said.
Gundogan said he has great respect for Qatar as a host.
“We are here now and I think Qatar is very proud. The country of Qatar is very proud to host the World Cup as well as being the first Muslim country, and I come from a Muslim family, so the Muslim community is proud.” he said.
Germany is still bottom of group E for the 2022 World Cup. To qualify for the next round, Germany must beat Costa Rica in their last game, hoping Spain beat Japan.
(ain/ain)
