Since FIFA announced Qatar to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, there has been a lot of buzz. Political, religious, or professional conflicts emerge, showing that the cultural gap between Western and Eastern communities is the leading cause.
Acceptance in our society is limited, Islamic ethics and Western democracy are entirely different, yet there should be a difference of respect between the two nations. Judging and conflicting because of one’s religious, cultural, and social differences negates the possibility of the sacred earth that we all dream of. Â
QATAR FIFA WORLD CUP 2022 CONTROVERSIES
Even a non-football fan is aware of the various accusations leveled at Qatar. Either it belongs to the illegality of homosexuality in Qatar or the ban on alcohol in the Islamic region.
It also includes The Death of migrant workers during infrastructure development or the bribing accusations on the FIFA world cup 2022 host. Some even question the delaying of the competition to November and December, despite its regular schedule in June or July.
They believe Qatar wants to unstained itself from its previous human rights allegations through the FIFA world cup 2022.Qatar is indeed doing it to enhance its international relationships with other countries, but this negativity proves that along with good international reforms, some geopolitical conflicts are inevitable.  Â
- Migrant Labor’s Death Issue
Various human rights organizations implicate Qatar for its unacceptable behavior toward the labor community. Low wages, a high work system, or withholding their passport (restricting them to leave the country or job at their own will) are their major problems.
We all know Qataris (national Qatar people) are not in manual or low-profile jobs; therefore, Qatar’s labor community is primarily based on migrants from India, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Pakistan, and Nepal.
Especially in 2010, after the announcement of Qatar as the FIFA world cup 2022 host, the problems regarding labor issues increased.
The renovation and construction of the stadium boost, which ultimately increases the workforce requirement, but Qatar fails to satisfy the international community regarding workers’ safety, security, and allowance.
Thus, on this basis (human rights abuse), people are boycotting and want to remove Qatar as the host of the FIFA world cup 2022.
World View Of Qatar Migrant Issue
In 2013 for the first time, this thing came into notice through the research work of The Guardian newspaper. It showed the pressure imposed on workers to do extra work with low pay. Moreover, they cannot decide about their departure from the country, practically a slave condition.
Later the Guardian newspaper conducted another research that illustrated that from 2010(a year in which Qatar was selected as a host) to 2020, 6500 migrant laborers from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal lost their lives during the stadium’s construction process.
Yet Qatar is denying that allegation by mentioning 37 people’s Death, and out of them, only 3 suffered Death while working.
In march 2016, Amnesty International forced the FIFA world cup amenities to compel the Qatar government to improve the living standards of workers who are working to develop and build the stadium.
The government should introduce strict laws and orders to stop stadium workers’ verbal and physical humiliation by their owners and give them the right to speak for their freedom and privileges.
In 2019 investigation by UK’s Daily Mirror revealed that 28,000 laborers who worked on the stadium infrastructure had waged 750 Qatari Ryal per month, equivalent to £190 per month for 48 hours per week.
All these allegations prove that Qatar is lagging while fulfilling the labor community’s rights.
Qatar’s Response To These Allegations
Everything matters will resolve once it comes to the government’s notice; similarly, after these proven allegations, the Qatar government offers changes in reform to uplift the living standard and conditions of the labor community.
The International Trade Union Confederation in October 2017 confirmed that Qatar had signed the contract to improve the living standard of more than 2 million migrant labor communities. They would need permission from their supervisor to leave either the job or the country.
In April 2020, Qatar initiated the following changes for the betterment of the labor community:
- Qatar government reserved 850 million dollars for paying the wages of labor during quarantine in Covid 19 Pandemic.
- The minimum monthly wage of the laborers has risen from 750 Qatari riyals to 1000 Qatari riyals; also, employers are obliged to pay extra 300 riyals for food and 500 riyals for accommodation.
- The non-objection certification (rights to leave the country or job depends on the owner) is removed, reducing the influence of owners on Employees.
Improvement After Qatar Labour Reforms
Now the world is accepting that Qatar’s labor reforms bring a positive change toward labor life, but still, along the way, is ahead. An initiative matters; once you step foot on the road of improvement, there is no turning back.
The European Union’sUnion’s annual report on human rights stated that Qatar’s labor reforms incorporated a non-discriminative wage system in the country.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino in march 2021, appreciated the Qatar government for the improvement made for the migrant laborer’s community; he stated:
“I am pleased to see the strong commitment from the Qatari authorities to ensure the reforms are fully implemented across the labor market, leaving a lasting legacy of the FIFA World Cup long after the event and benefiting migrant workers in the host country in the long term.”
- LGBT Community Rights Dispute Thoughts
LGBT community stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, those who have love and admiration for all genders and sexes irrespective of a standard norm that a man should marry a woman. They are free from these boundaries.
After 2010 everyone was intrigued about how the LGBT community would show their strength in the FIFA world cup 2022, as homosexuality is outlawed in Qatar.
Even FIFA’s former president Joseph Blatter was also criticized by the people when he said in an interview that in FIFA 2022, homosexuals should restrain themselves from manifesting their affection publicly. Later, he apologized for his controversial statement with a message that everyone is welcome in the FIFA world cup 2022.
Josh Cavallo, an Australian gay football player, once told in November 2021 that he was afraid to visit Qatar for the FIFA world cup 2022 because of the homosexuality ban issue.
Yet Nasser Al Khater (head of the tournament’s organizing committee) handled this situation professionally by replying that Cavallo, you are welcome in our country.
Conflicts On Rainbow Flags Banned In Stadium
FIFA football players want to wear rainbow armbands in support of human rights and OneLove to fight sexual discrimination. But due to Qatar’s policy about homosexuality, they can not perform that ritual which once again prompts trouble for Qatar.
Initially, Qatar decided that it would not restrict the spectators from using LQBT symbols like imagery or rainbow flags during world cup matches. But in 2022, a senior security official revealed in the conference that they would confiscate any LGBT depicting things from the audience entering the stadium.
They gave for this to avoid any conflict between LGBT and anti-LGBT communities, so to avoid that scenario, we are taking precautionary measures.
At the opening ceremony of the FIFA world cup 2022, Infantino affirmed that everyone is welcome here, irrespective of age, color, race, and sex. Still, as a nation, we should restrict ourselves to our rules.
Also, he added that Qatar is not the first country to have anti-LGBT laws. It exists in many other countries in the world. The 1954 FIFA world cup organized in Switzerland also prohibits homosexuality.
Thus, Qatar is not showing a cold shoulder towards the LGBT community, but we should also understand as it is prohibited in their culture, so they can’t make it legal just for the FIFA world cup 2022.
They respect the outside world, but it does not mean the world should force them to accept it.
- Lack Of Football Culture In Qatar
When Qatar won a bid to host the 2022 FIFA world cup, the people’s reaction was unwelcoming. Qatar never entered the FIFA world cup finals and others considered it A low team in ranking and Popularity.
Hence people are questioning how Qatar won the bid against various famous countries, especially Australia, who have entered the world cup finals every time since 2005.
All these queries ended when the former FIFA president illustrated that we want to cooperate with the FIFA world cup in every culture. We should keep its boundaries within various counties; instead, it is a way to have a pleasant interaction among people of different nations, religions, and cultures.
Ultimately, we all want healthy, vigorous, and fair competition among 32 countries.
- Alcohol Prohibition Conflict
In 2010 alcohol subject was also addressed in the Qatari bid; Qatar allowed the consumption of alcohol within the stadium. While according to Qatar law, the public consumption of alcohol is illegal.
Budweiser, FIFA’s most prominent sponsor would permit to sell beer in the designated area. A few days before the FIFA world cup opening, Qatari officials restricted them from vending beer inside the stadium. They only allowed its sale within the non-prominent perimeter around the stadium.
On 18 November 2022, two days before the world cup, FIFA banned the selling of alcohol within the confined parameters of the stadium, and alcohol would only be available within fan villages and in corporate hospitality boxes.
It raised the conflicts as FIFA authorities restricted the former host of the world cup Brazil amid their law and allowed alcohol consumption within the stadium.
All in all, no one can say who is at fault.
- Allegations Of Corruption In The Bidding Process
As I mentioned earlier, After Qatar’s selection as the host of the FIFA world cup 2022, everyone is in shock and has various accusations on Qatar that it used illegal means (corruption) to secure its seat in the bidding process.
Even one of Qatar’s bidding company members announced that Qatar paid several African officials 1.5 million dollars to support them during the bid. Still, later on, she retracted its claims.
Later she revealed that Qatar officials forced her to withdraw the statement. Allegations Muhammad Bin Hamam used corrupted means while securing a bid for the world cup 2022 host also stirred up the problem for Qatar.
Jack Warner, president of CONCACAF, received 2 million from a firm linked to the Qatar campaign, a case some have linked to the Qatar bid corruption case.
Later, FIFA authorities conducted a thorough investment in the bidding corruption case and were ready to re-vote to find a new host if these allegations were true.
They investigated their significant sponsors, Sony, Adidas, Visa, Hyundai, and Coca-Cola. They concluded with a statement that corruption during the bidding process has nothing to do with Qatar
- Change In Schedule
Climate change in Qatar is entirely responsible for shifting the regular plan of the world cup from June and July to November and December.
In November 2015, the FIFA task force provide the following valid reasons for changing the schedule, listed below:
- Winter 2022 February Olympics
- Paralympic 2022 in march
- Ramzan in April
All these reasons are valid enough to change the date from June July to November December. Along with that summer season is intense in Qatar, leading to a temperature greater than 45c in June or July.
Dispute Arises Due To Changes In The Schedule
These changes upset the pattern of domestic leagues and infuriated their sponsors as they will suffer because of the change in whole planning.
Football Federation Australia chairman Franky Lowy stated that if the FIFA world cup shifts to November 2022 and disturbs the pattern of A-league, they will ask for compensation from the FIFA world cup team.
The FIFA world cup also affected the Premier’s league’s famous Christmas and new year fixtures program. The Chief executive of the Premier League stated that any disruption in these events and FIFA world cup authorities would suffer from the legal actions they take against them.
CONCLUSION
It is not the first time arrival of controversy during the FIFA world cup. In 2018, the world also accused Russia because of the friendly relationship between FIFA world cup authorities and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In 2014 Brazil faced an allegation of removal of tens of thousands of poor and middle-class communities out of their living areas to make space for tournament infrastructures.
Despite all the conflicts, the enthusiasm will never fade, and those who wanted to boycott the FIFA world cup 2022 are still supporting and enjoying this world cup.
One thing that matters is the professional dealing with these controversies by the host nation. There should be an increase in acceptance rate in the audience as cultural and moral differences appear during this tenure. Still, the game will become more fantastic and peaceful if we respect other nations.
If you are willing to know more details about the FIFA world cup 2022 and the Qatar budget on it. Read the below article:
