Dhe human rights organization Amnesty International has criticized an appearance by FIFA President Gianni Infantino in a promotional video from Saudi Arabia. Infantino’s “exuberant hymn of praise” for the country’s “supposed great progress” are difficult to bear, said the Amnesty expert on golf, Regina Spöttl, on Friday. “Those responsible for sporting events should not be blinded by such sportswashing.” Infantino did not mention the “precarious” human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.
In the video published on Thursday by the Saudi Ministry of Sports on Twitter, Infantino can be seen visiting the historic site of Dirijah in the west of the capital Riyadh. “It’s an amazing setting, it’s an unbelievable story,” says the Swiss. “This is something the world should visit and see.” In another scene, he takes part in a traditional Saudi sword dance. He also praises the development of Saudi sport. There has been “a lot of change,” says Infantino. There is now women’s football in Saudi Arabia.
Over the past few years, the kingdom, under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has adopted reforms that liberalize society and give women more rights. Women are now allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia. A particularly conservative form of Islam is practiced in Saudi Arabia.
At the same time, the Saudi leadership is cracking down on human rights activists and other critics. The prominent women’s rights activist Ludschain al-Hathlul was sentenced to almost six years in prison at the end of December. Critics ran the risk of being “arrested, tortured and sentenced in unfair legal proceedings to long prison terms and a subsequent travel ban,” said Spöttl.
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