BERLIN (GERMANY), Aug. 8 (dpa/EP) –
Former German player Philipp Lahm, captain of the winning team of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, will not attend the Qatar 2022 tournament, which will take place at the end of the year, as a protest against the social situation in the Qatari country.
“I will not be part of the German delegation and I am not interested in going there as a fan either,” the former German winger told Kicker magazine. “I prefer to follow the tournament from home,” he added.
Lahm, director of Euro 2024, which will be played in Germany two years from now, has criticized FIFA for allowing the organization of the World Cup in Qatar.
“Human rights should play an important role in awarding tournaments. If a country that does poorly in that area gets the award (of hosting), then you have to think about what criteria the decision was based on,” he said.
In addition to the human rights situation, the issue of sustainability and the size of the country “apparently did not play any role”, according to Lahm, in terms of the award of the 2022 World Cup.
On the other hand, Lahm also encouraged the current German team to dare to talk about these issues at the World Cup, which starts on November 21 and ends on December 18.