Bayern Munich’s honorary president Uli Hoeneß had a verbal exchange of blows with the Qatar critic and former DFL managing director Andreas Rettig on Sunday on the Sport1 program “Doppelpass”. The 70-year-old, longtime manager of FC Bayern, took the side of the controversial World Cup host Qatar, which has been heavily criticized for allegations of corruption, homophobia and human rights violations.
Hoeneß spoke up by phone on Sunday after Rettig had made critical comments about the emirate on the Persian Gulf in a football talk. He called Rettig the “king of hypocrites” and asked Rettig: “Does he not shower so warmly in winter anymore, or has he ever thought about the gas that we will soon be getting from Qatar.” Hoeneß argues that the World Cup host role and the resulting discussions about Qatar are changing the situation on the ground: “The World Cup and FC Bayern’s commitment in the Gulf region will make working conditions better and not worse. The only country in the Region where things are really getting better because these discussions are happening is Qatar.” He called on the former Bundesliga manager to refrain from “eternal teasing” in the direction of Qatar. “The workers in Qatar are doing better and not worse because of the World Cup,” said Hoeneß.
With this statement, Hoeneß could be referring, among other things, to the abolition of the so-called kafala system, which creates far-reaching dependency between foreign employees and domestic employers. In 2020, the system was suspended in Qatar. However, critics complain that the reform does not go far enough and is being circumvented in some cases. According to research by the British newspaper, it is very likely that thousands of workers have died on the construction sites for the World Cup infrastructure since the 2010 World Cup was awarded Guardian 6500.
Exchange of blows between Hoeneß and Rettig
Hoeneß expressly welcomed Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s trip to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar: “It will only get better if Mr. Scholz goes there or the national teams go there.” One has to consider that 83 percent of the countries in the world do not treat human rights the way Germany does. If you don’t buy anything there anymore and don’t work together anymore, “we can close the shop”. In the direction of Rettig, Hoeneß said: “People who argue so catastrophically should think about it.”
Rettig countered: “I’m not surprised that you, as Qatar’s ‘ambassador’, argue like that.” Hoeneß and FC Bayern are connected to the ruling house in Qatar and have been “pro domo” for years. He is not surprised that the Qatari’s efforts in relation to “sports washing caught on with them,” Rettig told Hoeneß.
Bayern have had a highly controversial sponsorship partnership with the emirate’s airline for years. He can only hope that DFB President Bernd Neuendorf “will prevail with the fund for fatalities on the construction sites”. Rettig said towards Hoeneß: “I would advise them to spread the sources they tap a little wider.” Hoeneß replied and complained that Rettig had never been to Qatar: “It would be good if you went to Qatar and looked at things there.” Rettig replied: “Franz Beckenbauer didn’t see any slaves there either.” The 59-year-old replied succinctly to the Hoeneß replica (“I assume that you would search a little more intensively”): “You can assume that.”
