Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup: Gianni Infantino lashes out at critics, defends Arab culture; calls for unity

The
decision
to
host
the
FIFA’s
showpiece
event
in
Qatar
–
a
country
with
a
chequered
past
on
human
rights
issues,
its
treatment
of
migrant
workers
and
the
illegality
of
homosexuality
–
has
drawn
widespread
criticism,
but
in
an
extraordinary
riposte,
Infantino
was
unrepentant.

“Today
I
have
very
strong
feelings.
Today,
I
feel
Qatari.
Today,
I
feel
Arab.
Today,
I
feel
African.
Today,
I
feel
gay.
Today,
I
feel
disabled.
Today,
I
feel
a
migrant
worker,”
Infantino
said
in
the
pre-tournament
press
conference
in
Doha.

“I
feel
all
this
because
what
I
have
been
seeing
and
what
I
have
been
told,
since
I
don’t
read,
otherwise
I
will
be
depressed.

“What
I
see
brings
me
back
to
my
personal
story.
I
am
a
son
of
migrant
workers,
my
parents
were
working
hard
in
very
difficult
conditions,
not
in
Qatar
but
in
Switzerland,
I
remember
it
very
well.
I
know
the
rights
migrants
in
Switzerland
had.

“I
remember
as
a
child
how
migrant
workers
were
treated
when
they
wanted
to
enter
a
country
and
look
for
work.

“I
remember
what
happened
with
their
passports,
their
medical
checks,
with
their
accommodation
and
when
I
came
to
Doha
for
the
first
time
after
I
was
elected
FIFA
president
I
went
to
see
some
of
the
accommodation
and
I
was
brought
back
to
my
childhood.

“I
said
to
the
people
in
Qatar,
this
is
not
right,
and
the
same
way
that
Switzerland
has
become
an
example
of
tolerance,
inclusion
and
rights,
Qatar
has
made
progress
as
well.

“Of
course,
I
am
not
Qatari,
I
am
not
Arab,
I
am
not
African,
I
am
not
gay,
I
am
not
disabled,
I
am
not
a
migrant
worker
but
I
feel
like
them
because
I
know
what
it
feels
to
be
discriminated
against
by
a
bully.

“As
a
foreigner
in
a
foreign
county,
as
a
child
at
school,
I
was
bullied
at
school
because
I
had
red
hair
and
freckles.
I
was
Italian,
and
didn’t
speak
good
German.

“What
do
you
do?
You
lock
yourself
down,
go
to
your
room
and
cry.
And
then
you
try
to
make
some
friends,
to
engage,
make
friends.
And
then
you
try
to
make
these
friends
engage
with
others.
You
don’t
start
fighting,
you
start
engaging
and
this
is
what
we
should
be
doing.

“I
am
proud
to
have
this
FIFA
sign
on
my
jacket.
It’s
not
easy
to
read
all
the
criticism
from
a
decision
taken
12
years
ago.
Now
we
have
to
make
the
best
out
of
it.

“Qatar
is
ready
and
it
will
be
the
best
World
Cup
ever.
As
soon
as
the
ball
rolls,
people
will
focus
on
that.”

Infantino’s
“I
feel
gay”
comment
immediately
prompted
accusations
of
hypocrisy
on
social
media
given
he
heads
an
organisation
that
is
staging
the
World
Cup
in
a
country
with
such
an
oppressive
outlook
on
homosexuality.

He
added:
“If
we
were
to
exclude
all
these
countries,
you
are
playing
football
with
just
you
and
me.

“I
think
football
has
to
bring
people
together
and
I
think
we
have
to
welcome
everybody.
Gay
people
are
welcome
in
Qatar
–
we
need
to
engage,
don’t
provoke.

“How
many
gay
people
were
prosecuted
in
Europe?
It
was
a
process,
we
went
through
a
process.
We
seem
to
forget.

“We
shouldn’t
take
for
granted
that
a
country
that
has
not
had
the
same
chance
for
development
as
we
had
in
Europe.

“We
have
to
have
our
beliefs,
engage
and
explain.
I
think
provocation
is
the
wrong
way.
I
may
be
right,
may
be
wrong.
I
try
to
engage.”

Qatar
2022,
a
29-day
affair
will
be
the
shortest
World
Cup
in
FIFA
historyand
will
end
on
December
18,
incidentally,
the
Qatar
National
Day.

(With
inputs
from
Agencies)