These statements will provide a topic of conversation!
Bavaria’s Honorary President Uli Hoeneß (70) calls live in the Sport1 “double pass” – and defends the World Cup in Qatar!
Hoeneß: “The World Cup and the commitment of FC Bayern and other sports activities will ensure that working conditions in Qatar are better.”
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And further: “It is only spoken about Qatar, not about Dubai, Kuwait and so on. The only country where things are getting better is Qatar. When the World Cup was awarded, there was a lot of criticism of Qatar. The workers in Qatar are better off because of the World Cup than without.”
The reason for the debate: the adverse working conditions of guest workers building the stadium infrastructure in Qatar.
During the preparations for the World Cup, which will take place in the desert country from November 20 to December 18, 2022, according to official Qatari figures, 15,000 non-Qatarian citizens are said to have died on construction sites in the desert state between 2010 and 2019. This is reported, among others, by the human rights organization “Amnesty International”.
How many of them died specifically on World Cup construction sites is unclear. According to a report by the British “Guardian”, almost 6,500 workers lost their lives.
Hoeneß also complained about “Doppelpass” guest Andreas Rettig (59), who was last managing director at Viktoria Cologne and heavily criticized the World Cup in Qatar: “I would like to tell Andreas Rettig, the king of hypocrisy, whether he is in the Winter also takes cold showers and the gas, which we will soon be getting from Qatar, has he ever thought about it?”
However, Rettig countered, saying after Hoeneß had spoken: “I’m not surprised that you argue like that. You have been the World Cup ambassador in Qatar for years. The examples you give are pointless because all the countries you just listed didn’t host the World Cup. I was at an event recently and there was a Kenyan who saw everything on the spot. You should have a chat with him.”
And further: “We shouldn’t pant after everything is getting better in Qatar. I would recommend that you, Mr. Hoeneß, check your sources and soon position yourself more broadly.”
Hoeneß then gets back on the phone and speaks to Rettig: “Have you ever been to Qatar?” To which Rettig, who was DFL Managing Director from 2013 to 2015 and then St. Pauli boss from 2015 to 2019, replies: ” No, that is not one of my favorite travel destinations.”
Even Chancellor Olaf Scholz (64) does not consider the working conditions of guest workers in Qatar to be ideal. Scholz on Sunday in the Qatari capital Doha: “We note that there is also progress on issues that had to be fought for a long time, such as the situation of employees. Even if that does not correspond to the ideas that we have ourselves.”
However, he leaves it open whether Scholz will travel to the World Cup: “Of course, the question of how we will go there must be decided promptly. But it will be the case that there will be someone there.”
