JAKARTA - Former captain of the German national team Philipp Lahm plans to boycott the 2022 World Cup this winter due to the poor record on human rights in host country Qatar.
FIFA has faced massive criticism after appointing Qatar to host the quadrennial event. This is because the country with a population of more than two million people has a human rights record for their treatment of migrant workers.
"I'm not part of the delegation and I'm not interested in flying there as a fan. I prefer to follow the tournament from home," Lahm told German media Kicker on Wednesday.
Protests against FIFA over Qatar being chosen to host have started since the country was appointed in 2010.
Apart from its human rights record, Qatar has never previously qualified for the World Cup. Moreover, they were ranked 113th in the FIFA world when granted the hosting rights.
"Human rights should play the biggest role in the appointment of a tournament host. If a country is awarded a contract but gets the worst score in this regard, you need to think about the criteria used to make a decision," Lahm said.
An investigation from The Guardian last year found more than 6,500 migrant workers had died in Qatar since it was announced as a host country 12 years ago.
Of that number, 37 of the deaths were directly related to the construction of the stadium for the tournament.
In addition, according to Amnesty International, Qatari authorities continue to restrict freedom of expression using harsh laws to muffle critical voices. In addition, women and the LGBTQ+ community are often oppressed.
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar. There same-sex marriage can lead to criminal prosecution and up to seven years in prison.
However, FIFA President Gianni Infantino insisted that everything was welcome in the Gulf nation. He even invited LGBTQ+ football fans to attend the tournament.
Unfortunately, what Infantino said contrasts the results of a recent investigation jointly conducted by the NRK and SVT in Sweden and the DR in Denmark.
The investigation found that several hotels in the country refused to allow same-sex couples to stay.
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