fifa: FIFA’s Infantino accuses World Cup critics of ‘hypocrisy’

FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Saturday hit back at criticism of Qatar’s human rights record, criticizing the “hypocrisy” of Western critics on the eve of the start of the World Cup.

Infantino expressed support for the LGBTQ community and migrant workers at his opening press conference of the tournament in Doha.

The Swiss said, “To give this moral lesson – unilaterally – is just hypocrisy.”

“I don’t want to give you any life lessons, but what is happening here is very unjust.” He said: “We Europeans must apologize for the next 3,000 years before we start giving people moral lessons for what they’ve been doing for the last 3,000 years.”

Concerns over the treatment of Qatar’s migrant workers, women and the LGBTQ community have dominated the build-up to the tournament in the Gulf state.

Infantino expressed his support for those communities.

He said, “Today I feel Qatari, today I feel Arab, today I feel African, today I feel gay, today I feel disabled, today I feel migrant worker.”

Qatari officials say their country has been the target of “racism” and “double standards”. They point to improvements on working conditions and safety that have been considered unprecedented in the Bay Area.

The World Cup begins on Sunday when host nation Qatar will take on Ecuador in their opening match.

Originally published at Pen 18