FIFA World Cup 2022
Watch: ‘Before starting to give moral lessons…’ – Gianni Infantino hits back at European critics of FIFA World Cup in Qatar
“Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arab,” says Gianni Infantino
On Saturday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino took a hit at European critics of World Cup host Qatar, implying a moral double standard in his own continent. On the eve of the mega event in Qatar, which has been dogged for years by criticism of the emirate’s record on human rights and treatment of migrant workers who built stadiums and infrastructure, Infantino listed Europe’s problems.
“What we Europeans have been doing for the past 3,000 years we should be apologizing for the next 3,000 years before we start giving moral lessons to people,” Infantino said to the international media. He stated that Qatar and its capital, Doha, will be prepared to host the “best World Cup ever.”
“Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel a migrant worker,” he added.
Here is Gianni Infantino’s video
"I am European. For what we have been doing for 3,000 years around the world, we should be apologising for the next 3,000 years before giving moral lessons."
– FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Europe's criticism of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. pic.twitter.com/deHAY6K91l
— Gabbar (@Gabbar0099) November 19, 2022
He stated that European nations have now closed their borders to immigrants seeking work, whereas Qatar has offered legal opportunities to workers from India, Bangladesh, and other Southeast Asian countries.
Migrant labourers who built Qatar’s World Cup stadiums often worked long hours under harsh conditions and were subjected to discrimination, wage theft, and other abuses as their employers avoided accountability, according to a 75-page report released this month by the London-based rights group Equidem.
