The German team, just before kick-off against Iceland -

Tobias Schwarz / AP / SIPA

No FIFA sanction against Germany after the message sent by the eleven Mannschaft holders before the kick-off of the match against Iceland counting for the qualifiers for the World Cup in Qatar.

The holding of the competition in this Gulf country has been hotly contested since the publication of an article in the Guardian reporting the death of 6,500 workers in the 2022 World Cup construction sites.

"Fifa believes in freedom of expression and the power of football to bring about positive change," the body announced on Friday in a statement sent to SID, AFP's sports subsidiary.

German government applauds

The day before, when it was time to line up to listen to the national anthems, the German players, opposed to Iceland, stood side by side, each wearing a black t-shirt flocked with a large white letter: the eleven letters formed the words "HUMAN RIGHTS".

"We wanted to make it clear to the public that we are not ignoring this," German midfielder Leon Goretzka said after the match with a 3-0 victory.

“We ourselves wrote the letters on our t-shirts, we have a large audience and we can use it tremendously to send signals in favor of the values ​​we stand for,” he added.

This gesture was welcomed by the spokesperson of the German government, Steffen Seiffert, for whom it was "a good deed".

"It is good to reiterate the values ​​of our liberal democracy, at a time when democracy is not necessarily on the rise around the world," he added.

Norway had preceded Germany

On Wednesday, the Norwegian team had organized a similar action before their qualifying match in Gibraltar (3-0), by wearing t-shirts before the match proclaiming: "Human rights on and off the field".

Coach Staale Solbakken justified the initiative by asserting: "It is about putting pressure on Fifa to be even more direct, even firmer towards the authorities in Qatar, that it imposes on them. stricter requirements ”.

Here too, Fifa had refrained from inflicting a sanction on him, while in general the international federation prohibited political statements within the framework of the meetings.

Sport

2022 World Cup: Norwegian players denounce the situation of migrant workers in Qatar

  • Sport

  • Germany

  • Soccer

  • FIFA

  • World Cup 2022