March 26 – Germany has become the latest footballing nation to protest against 2022 World Cup host Qatar’s human rights record, following in Norway’s footsteps by showing support for migrant workers in the Gulf state.
The German squad wore T-shirts spelling out ‘HUMAN RIGHTS’ prior to their game against Iceland on Thursday, hours after FIFA said Norway would not be disciplined for their stance earlier this week.
The German team lined up in black shirts, each with one white letter to spell out ‘HUMAN RIGHTS’, ahead of the 3-0 win against Iceland.
Midfielder Leon Goretzka said the German players had followed Norway’s lead and that they wanted to make a statement about the 2022 World Cup.
“We just spoke about it in the team. Obviously we have the World Cup ahead of us and there’s always a lot of discussion going on about that,” he told broadcaster RTL.
“We wanted to make it clear to society that we aren’t ignoring that and that instead we’re saying very clearly what kind of conditions there should be, and we tried to make that clear today.”
Norway’s initiative came as part of an ongoing movement to boycott the World Cup that was started by top-flight club Tromso.
But that seems highly unlikely given that FIFA’s regulations state that teams withdrawing from next year’s tournament can also be banned from the 2026 edition.
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