With the tournament in Qatar getting closer by the day, a lot of questions have been raised due to the alleged human rights violations.
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England head coach Gareth Southgate has ruled out the possibility of boycotting this year’s World Cup in Qatar, by questioning what England would achieve with their actions. There were question marks raised by many people ever since the Middle Eastern country was awarded the chance to host the tournament. With the World Cup getting closer by the day, a lot of concerns have been raised due to the alleged human rights violations. “I don’t really know what that achieves,” Southgate was quoted as saying by Sky Sports. “It would be a big story, but the tournament would go ahead.
“The fact, unfortunately, is the biggest issue, which is non-religious and non-cultural, is what happened with the building of the stadiums and there is nothing we can do about that either, sadly. We have known for eight years that this is going to be in Qatar. Is the stance against Qatar as a country? We are intertwined, as we are seeing with Russia, with all sorts of investment in this country.
“This is complicated. The issues themselves aren’t complicated; all the repercussions of diplomatic relations and dealing with other countries and other organisations are extremely complicated.”
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Southgate feels that there is an opportunity to use the “platform in a positive way” but thinks that the England team will face criticism for whatever course of action they take in Qatar.
“The players are thinking through how they best respond and try to affect the things we might be able to affect,” he added. “There are things that are cultural and religious that are going to be difficult to affect and change, but there is an opportunity to use our platform in a positive way, without a doubt.
“There is a long period to do that, so I don’t think we should rush into that. I don’t think the players feel they could rush something and come to the wrong conclusion or idea.
“Whatever we do we are going to be criticised, but we are going to try and do our best. There are going to be things ongoing throughout the year. The players have stepped up to the plate enormously on various issues. We’ve got to use our voice in the right way and at the right time.”
