“You’re protesting an Islamic country hosting an event,” The head of Qatar’s FIFA World Cup committee slams western countries for sending ‘divisive’ message’s with the OneLove armband
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One Love Armband
Hassan Al-Thawadi, the head of the FIFA Qatar World Cup, claimed that the countries wearing the OneLove armband were sending a “divisive message” and that they should recognize and respect Arab values. In Qatar, where same-sex relationships are prohibited.
England and Wales were among the European nations who intended for their captain to don the anti-discrimination OneLove armband. However, after FIFA promised to penalize players who wore it with a quick yellow card, they reversed course, much to the dismay of the general public. Before their 2-1 loss to Japan, German players covered their mouths in a team photo as a message to FIFA.
Al-Thawadi, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy of the World Cup in Qatar, has now charged Western countries with failing to respect and comprehend Middle Eastern culture. He stated: “It’s a FIFA decision. I wasn’t part of that discussion; their policy is they have their armbands representing inclusivity and a number of topics, sustainability, so on and so forth…“It goes back to the simple fact that this is a part of the world with its values. It is a part of the world, not Qatar, I’m talking about the Arab world,”.
He went on to express his frustration with the divisive messages that the European country’s action were putting forward. He said, “For teams to come and preach or make statements, that is fine, but what you’re essentially saying is you’re protesting an Islamic country hosting an event. So where does that end?…So if you’re making a statement here in Qatar or specifically addressed to Qatar, and by extension the Islamic world, or course I take issue with that. It leaves a very divisive message,”.
Also Read: 2022 FIFA World Cup: Netherlands v Qatar Live Stream, Match Timings, and Preview
At the World Cup in Qatar, controversy is being caused by the “One Love” LGBTQ rights armband
During the World Cup in Qatar, the soccer captains of seven European teams were scheduled to don rainbow armbands to spread the message of LGBTQ acceptance in a country where homosexuality is against the law. But none of them will know that they are under fire from FIFA, the sport’s governing body.
The Football Association, which oversees soccer in England, along with its Welsh counterpart, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, and Belgium, confirmed in a statement on Monday that they were forced to abandon the One Love campaign gesture they had announced in September due to threats from FIFA of sporting sanctions.
The Dutch Football Association launched the One Love campaign before the start of the 2020 soccer season to “show their support for the union of all people” and denounce all forms of prejudice. Nine additional countries, including Norway, Sweden, and France, were revealed to adopt the campaign in September 2022 in preparation for forthcoming events such as the Qatar World Cup and the UEFA Nations League in 2023.
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Ujan Chakraborty
(1240 Articles Published)