Fifa chief accuses Qatar critics of hypocrisy in angry outburst ahead of World Cup
- On the eve of the tournament’s start, Gianni Infantino rounded on European critics of the host nation over the issues of migrant workers and LGBTQ rights
- ‘We have to invest in helping these people, in education and to give them a better future and more hope. We should all educate ourselves,’ he said
Fifa president Gianni Infantino accused critics of World Cup host Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers of hypocrisy on Saturday, adding that engagement was the only way to improve human rights.
In lengthy, and sometimes angry, opening remarks at a news conference on the eve of the start of the tournament, Infantino rounded on European critics of the host nation over the issues of migrant workers and LGBTQ rights.
“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,” he said.
“I have difficulties understanding the criticism. We have to invest in helping these people, in education and to give them a better future and more hope. We should all educate ourselves, many things are not perfect but reform and change takes time.
“This one-sided moral lesson is just hypocrisy,” he said.
“It is not easy to take the criticism of a decision that was made 12 years ago. Doha is ready, Qatar is ready and of course it will be the best World Cup ever.”