• FIFA leaders have sent a letter to the 32 selections who will play the next World Cup in Qatar in which he asks them to "focus on football".

  • This letter follows the positions taken by several selections and players on Qatar's respect for human rights.

A letter with a funny content.

FIFA leaders called on the 32 teams taking part in the Qatari World Cup, beset by human rights controversies, to "focus on football", in a letter revealed by Sky News on Friday.

"You carry on your shoulders the hopes and dreams of your nation and its people So please, let's focus now on football", urge Gianni Infantino and Fatma Samoura, respectively president and secretary general of the body, in a mail.

Unusual in its tone, this letter alludes, without naming them, to the positions taken by several selections on respect for the rights of workers and LGBT + people by the small emirate, also criticized for the environmental cost of the tournament.

"We know that football does not exist in a vacuum, and we are equally aware of the many challenges and difficulties of a political nature in the world", concede the two leaders.

"But please don't let football be dragged into every ideological or political battle."

“Let FIFA start tackling serious human rights issues”

Concretely, FIFA does not say whether it approves or disapproves of the wearing announced by several captains of European selections, including England, France and Germany, of armbands in the colors of the rainbow, with the message "One Love", in a country that criminalizes homosexual relations.

She also does not respond to the video released last week by 16 members of the Australian team, who criticize the lack of respect for human rights and explain that they have "listened to organizations such as Amnesty International and, more importantly, workers foreigners in Qatar”.

But, in very general terms, Gianni Infantino and Fatma Samoura say "try to respect all opinions and beliefs, without giving moral lessons to the rest of the world", calling for respect for "diversity".

“No people, culture or nation is better than another.

This principle is the cornerstone of mutual respect and non-discrimination.

And it is also one of the fundamental values ​​of football, ”they insist.



Amnesty International, via its head of economic and social justice Steve Cockburn, for its part estimated that "if Gianni Infantino wants the world to focus on football, there is a simple solution: that FIFA begins to attack serious human rights issues instead of sweeping them under the rug".

“A first step would be to publicly commit to creating a fund to compensate migrant workers before the tournament kicks off, and to ensure that LGBT people are not discriminated against or harassed,” adds- he in a statement.

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