PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday urged Qatar to pursue the path of “concrete changes” that, according to him, translates the organization by the emirate of the 2022 World Cup. football, the first organized in the Arab world, testifies to the concrete changes that are at work. Qatar has embarked on this path and must continue. It can count on our support”, declared Emmanuel Macron on Twitter during the France-Denmark game. On Saturday, France became the first team to qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup by beating Denmark 2-1. Earlier this month, Emmanuel Macron said sport should not be politicized, brushing aside suggestions of a boycott. The decision to award Qatar the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup has come under criticism from human rights groups on issues including the treatment of immigrant workers, the environmental impact of air conditioning in stadiums and the criminalization of homosexuality in this conservative Muslim country. The Qatari government, for its part, countered that its labor organization was still being worked out and denied many of the accusations from rights groups.
(Report Dominique Vidalon; French version Kate Entringer)
click here for restrictions
©2022 Reuters