The players of the France team announced on Tuesday their intention to provide financial support to NGOs working “for the protection of human rights” and recalled their “attachment” to “refusal of any form of discrimination” before the FIFA Cup. world in Qatar. In a “collective letter” published on social networks, the reigning world champions recognize “a troubled context” around this World Cup, which begins on Sunday: “Each of us must take our share” of responsibility, they explain, joining other qualified nations that have already spoken on the subject, such as Australia or Denmark.
Discreet Blues so far
The Blues had remained quite discreet, so far, in their positions on human rights, a subject which crystallized criticism from NGOs on the sidelines of this first World Cup organized in an Arab country, in particular on the living conditions of workers in the construction sites of the competition. “Our passion should not be the cause of the misfortune of some”, insist the players of the France team, considering themselves “sensitive” to “alerts from NGOs and associations”.
The financial support promised by the players of the France team will go through an endowment fund called Generation 2018, created in recent months by the 2018 world champions and “intended to finance actions with social impact” which are important to them. . Initially, it was envisaged that France captain Hugo Lloris would wear an inclusive armband with colored stripes, alongside several captains from European nations, in the emirate where homosexuality is criminalized.
Lloris wants to ‘show respect’ to Qatar
But the president of the Federation Noël Le Graët indicated that he was not very favorable to it, casting doubt on the participation of the Blues in this operation. Lloris himself explained on Monday that he intended to “show respect” to the host country. “When we welcome foreigners to France, we often want them to follow our rules and respect our culture,” he said at a press conference.
Several qualified nations have taken a stand on these issues in recent days, through various means. Australia has published a video where fifteen players protested against rights violations in Qatar. The Danish selection had for its part considered training in Qatar with pro-human rights jerseys, before seeing its request rejected by Fifa, organizer of the event. In a letter, the latter urged the qualified teams in recent days to “focus on football” and not fall “into every ideological or political battle”.