Human Rights – exactly eleven letters
Before the whistle blew for Germany‘s World Cup qualifier against Iceland on Thursday, the German players stood in a line wearing black T-shirts with letters, apparently painted in white, that linked together to form the English word “Human Rights”. The move was a protest against the human rights situation in Qatar, the host of the 2022 World Cup, and a call for a boycott of the tournament.
Leon Goretzka, who plays as a midfielder on the team, told the media after the game that each of the eleven players painted the letters themselves, hoping to use the field as a platform to express their values and send a political signal – namely, to attack the human rights situation in Qatar.
Qatar, host of the 2022 World Cup, has been criticized recently for its human rights. According to the Guardian, some 6,500 laborers, mostly from Southeast Asia, have died so far due to a lack of workplace safety measures during the construction of the World Cup stadiums. While most of the competition venues have been completed, controversy continues over issues such as human rights, equality, freedom of expression and pay equity.
The Qatari government has responded to these accusations by emphasizing that reforms have been adopted over the past few years that have significantly improved labor conditions for workers. Human rights organizations have also acknowledged improvements in these areas, but the implementation of reforms remains insufficient.
FIFA and the German government show support
The German team has won a lot of praise for this action and support from FIFA, the International Federation of Association Football. The association told the German news agency on Friday that it “believes in freedom of expression and is convinced that soccer has the power to bring about positive change” and will not discipline the players for taking unauthorized demonstrations on the pitch. In fact, the Norwegian national team had already made a “demonstration” the day before the German match, and the latter was not criticized by FIFA. The Norwegian team also made a call for human rights at the World Cup qualifier against Gibraltar, except that the T-shirts they wore with the words “Human Rights” appeared to have been custom-made.
Norwegian player’s T-shirt: “Human Rights – on and off the field of play”
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert also took a stand on this occasion on Friday, saying the federal government supports the actions of the German national team. “This is of course a good thing, because our national team is – let me say this – a good representation of a part of Germany. When they clearly show their support for our liberal democratic values, this is of course a good thing.” Seibert stressed that such actions are especially important in the current world, where democratic values are not always in the ascendant.
“This action by the (German) national team sends an important signal to draw attention to the human rights situation in Qatar and to increase pressure on the government,” said Wolfgang Büttner, spokesman for Human Rights Watch. ” The organization does not support a boycott of the 2022 World Cup, and the spokesman noted that the German Football Association should continue to exert pressure so that the Qatar World Cup becomes a catalyst for improving labor rights there. German fan group Pro Fans, on the other hand, believes there should be a complete boycott of the Qatar World Cup, with spokesman Sig Zelt saying, “Such action is a step in the right direction, but we don’t think it’s enough. “
According to a questionnaire commissioned by Der Spiegel, a majority of Germans support Germany’s abandonment of the broadcast of the 2022 World Cup matches and the boycott of the tournament in Qatar by the German Football Association. According to the survey results, 83 percent of respondents believe the decision to award the World Cup hosting rights to Qatar is wrong; 68 percent oppose the German national team’s participation in the World Cup, while only 21 percent explicitly support participation. In addition, 65 percent of respondents said they would not watch the televised 2022 World Cup based on the current situation.
Voices of doubt
Dagmar Freitag, chairman of the German Bundestag’s sports committee, while applauding the signals released by the German national team, also pointed out that there is no escaping the suspicion of double standards. “I have no doubt about the players’ personal stance on this subject”, he noted in an interview with the German sports news agency (SID), waiting until a few days when “certain players will again be wearing jerseys with the logo of their sponsor Qatar Airways on them on the field “, then you can see how complicated the situation is. Five players in the German national team are from Bayern Munich, and Qatar Airways is one of the soccer club’s main sponsors.
Loew: I didn’t ask them to do this
As to what role the ever low-profile German Football Association played in this impromptu move, it is unclear. However, national team head coach Loew stressed that he did not ask the players to do so. “The players scrawled the T-shirts themselves at noon that day.” A commentary by the sports news agency noted that regardless of the action taken, it is impossible for the German Football Association not to participate in the 2022 World Cup tournament. Of course, the organization should also show support for its own players.
Is it because the Norwegian national team made the move first and got a good response that the German players decided to follow suit on the fly? That’s what the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang wrote anyway: “Germany copied Norway.” And Norwegian team manager Stale Solbakken said, “Now one of the giants [of soccer] is following our lead, which is a good effect.”
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