The ‘World Cup of controversy’ or the ‘World Cup of shame’. These are just two of the many negative adjectives that the great celebration of football is receiving.
Since the announcement of Qatar as the host of the World Cup was made public in 2010, the criticism was not long in coming, especially for the constant violation of human rights of some communities, such as LGBTQ, women or migrants in that country.
When it officially became the host of the World Cup, this Islamic monarchy of the Persian Gulf got down to work and began the accelerated construction of the stadiums to host the competition. According to the British newspaper The Guardian, some 6,500 immigrant workers lost their lives in these works due to endless working hours in temperatures of 50 degrees and under threat of being expelled if they did not accept these conditions. A figure that the Qatari government minimizes. However, an investigation by Amnesty International supports the newspaper’s information.
Faced with this situation, there are many who continue to criticize the World Cup being held in Qatar and others are trying to go further and take action. This is the case of a bar-restaurant in Ibiza located in Platja d’en Bossa, Ohana. On its social networks it has published the following information for its customers: “We feel morally obliged not to broadcast the World Cup in Qatar as an act of solidarity with all the people who gave their lives to make this event possible. We apologize for any inconvenience caused”.
This announcement has been very well received by their followers. “Sounds good to me”, “A perfect decision”, “Well done. I wish more companies would do the same”… are some of the responses to the publication.
Ana Rosa Quintana, also very critical of the World Cup
One of the most famous journalists in Spain, Ana Rosa Quintana, has also been very hard on the World Cup in Qatar in her television program, focusing on the words spoken by the emir of Qatar during his speech at the opening ceremony: “He talked about diversity while there were hardly any women in the boxes”. Then, the presenter expanded her point of view on the event: “You football fans have to watch it and you will, but I think that many women will not watch it. Even female footballers”.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.