While the FIFA World Cup in Qatar continues to be debated a few days before its kickoff, French President Emmanuel Macron estimated Thursday, November 17 that it was not necessary “politicizing sport”. “These questions must be asked when attributing the event”he launched in Bangkok.
The first football World Cup ever organized in the Arab world, which begins on Sunday, has sparked several controversies, as much on the living conditions of local workers, the impact on the environment of air-conditioned stadiums and the place of LGBTQ+ women and minorities. .
These criticisms prompted some fans, especially from Western Europe, to boycott the competition. On the other hand, the president made it known that he would go to Qatar if the Blues reached the final or the semi-finals.
“A very bad idea”
Mr Macron insisted that “it was a very bad idea to politicize sport”recalling that Paris was going to organize the Olympic Games in 2024. He went to Russia in 2018 to attend the World Cup final won by the Blues against Croatia.
The French team, which arrived in Doha on Wednesday, remains cautious in its position on human rights. The players notably renounced an initiative common to several European selections, who want their captains to wear an armband with colored stripes during the competition, in support of the fight against discrimination.
FIFA has still not given the green light to this operation, while homosexuality is criminalized in the gas emirate. It’s necessary “show respect” to the host country, justified the captain of the Blues, Hugo Lloris.