Mayor says Bristol is united in criticism of staging World Cup in Qatar
AS the World Cup kicked off yesterday Bristol mayor Marvin Rees criticised Qatar for human rights abuses, as well as Fifa officials for awarding hosting rights to a nation under fire for its authoritarian regime and its attitude to LGBTQ+ people.
In a public statement, Mr Rees said the hosting decision was a “stitch-up” by a group of Fifa officials, 16 of whom have been indicted, arrested, or convicted of crimes and banned from football. A further eight have been investigated for similar crimes.
The mayor highlighted how, since Qatar was awarded the competition in 2010, many thousands of Asian migrant workers have died working in the country, while many more hundreds of thousands have complained of widespread human rights abuses of this workforce.
Mr Rees wrote: “Former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly is quoted as saying, ‘Some people believe football is a matter of life or death.’ In Qatar, for thousands of migrant workers – it’s exactly that.
“Migrant workers there are banned from joining trade unions.
“6,500 south Asian migrant workers have died in Qatar in the decade since the hosting rights were awarded, reports the Guardian.
“And, whether you’re Rovers or City, Bristol is united in the knowledge that Qatar got to host the World Cup thanks to a stitch-up. Sixteen of the people who voted on or were involved on a senior level in where to host this World Cup have been indicted, arrested, or banned from football/sport.”