Ridiculous action at Qatar World Cup
Hoeneß takes on the DFB team and Faeser
1/22/2023, 5:38 p.m
Uli Hoeneß sees Germany as a “big loser” after the discussions before and during the controversial World Cup in Qatar. The Federal Republic has “never had such a bad image as it did at this World Cup,” says FC Bayern’s honorary president.
According to Uli Hoeneß, the German national soccer team and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) did anything but look good in the discussion about the “One Love” armband at the controversial World Cup in Qatar. When the other nations realized that the bandage could not be enforced, “they pulled in their tails and we were the bad guys who made fools of ourselves – including our interior minister, who sat down next to the Infantino with the silly bandage. She just made herself look ridiculous,” said Hoeneß in the Sport1 “double pass”. The SPD politician defended the action after the tournament and explained that it was in particular a criticism of the FIFA ban.
In general, there was too much discussion about politics in Germany around the desert World Cup, criticized the honorary president of Bayern Munich. He scolded “those grumps who, with their bad mood, have been discussing this whole time”. For him it is clear: “We were the big losers in this game. Germany has never had such a bad image.”
Bayern also suffered from this. It is “by no means certain” that sponsor Qatar Airways is willing to extend the contract: “The headwind that was felt here left its mark there.” A sponsorship contract, by the way, which, according to many Bayern fans, should not be extended anyway, as Qatar’s misconduct is too great.
Envious look at Argentina
In his criticism, the 71-year-old alluded to the reporting and the discussion about the human rights situation in the World Cup host country. “We Germans believe we can change the world on our own, that’s the problem. Unfortunately, that’s not possible.” Although these things would have to be addressed, it would not be possible “to use this World Cup to only talk about these things”. The final round of the desert tournament, in which the DFB team had already been eliminated in the preliminary round, offered great sporting entertainment. “I can well imagine what was going on in Argentina,” said Hoeneß, looking at the world champion country.
“A spirit of optimism” must be created around the national team again, said Hoeneß, who believes Rudi Völler to be the right man as the new sports director. “Hansi Flick and his team have to take care of the change in mood”, but also the DFB as an association. Hoeneß also has ideas: The DFB must be willing to “waive money” and take the kick-off times into account. “If you want to inspire youngsters again, you can’t show an international match at 9 p.m. if it’s not stipulated by UEFA.” There must be more public training sessions and the association must also let “20,000 children for free” in the stadium.
