Soccer World Cup 2022: “The Qataris are laughing at us”

Mr. Hofmann, you’ve been back from Qatar for two weeks now, how do you see the time?

This has been an unforgettable tour. It was a unique experience that all nations were in one city – we spent time with fans from Argentina, Brazil and Africa – it was celebrated every day. Then we had to see that only the German team was 100 kilometers away and not like all the other teams in Doha. The others showed closeness to the fans and the press. That hurt us. We not only wanted to support the team during the games, but also see them in training. That was impossible, too bad. We noticed that Germany is delimiting itself.

Did the Germans generally set themselves apart at this tournament?

There weren’t that many people there, it hurt us a bit. When I see that the national team fan club isn’t based in Doha, but in Dubai. Every game they had to fly from Dubai to Doha and back again. All other fans were in this city. I would be interested in the carbon footprint of the Germans. The contact with the many fans from all over the world was fantastic.

You were a German fan leader. How did that happen?

may i explain I got a call from Qatar about seven weeks ago to ask if I wouldn’t like to be the German fan representative. And if I would come to Qatar to meet up with the other 31 nations. I was amazed and said: that’s a DFB story and I said I’ll get in touch with the DFB. I called there and showed them my invitation and didn’t get any support with the note: Qatar is a difficult story, if we’re not careful they’ll tear us apart. I called Qatar and said: If you think I should do it, I’ll come. I flew to Qatar and met the 31 fan representatives from all nations. We’re all friends now.

What happened then?

14 days later another call came from Qatar. All 31 nations have already agreed, only Germany not. Would I do that too? Then I said it would be a shame if Germany canceled. If you think I’m the right one, I’ll do it. I’ve asked around in my circle of friends and one of my acquaintances is a trainer. I asked him: Can you organize a couple of footballers? And a few fans? We then flew to Dubai with 36 fans. The DFB did not participate again. I’m the one who represented Germany. I got spanked for doing that. It was a great World Cup, the next World Cup is in Mexico, America and Canada. Here everyone was in one place.

But?

What was negatively received was the story with “One Love” and mouth. Many fans came up to us with their hands over their heads, on the street, on the train. Again and again this gesture. Qatar, the whole Arab world laughed at Germany, the locals told us about this attitude. That Germany presented itself as a know-it-all and as those who insult Qatar. The worst was when Sandro Wagner said about the white bathrobes. The Arab world took this as a great insult. Me and my people, we wanted to treat the country and the people with respect. It’s a World Cup, we don’t want anything to do with politics, we want to represent our country well, support our team and promote international understanding.