Qatar guarantees the safety of all German football fans who decide to travel to the upcoming World Cup. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Tuesday in Doha after her talks with Qatari Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani. “No matter where he comes from, no matter who he believes in, no matter who he loves,” the safety of the fans is guaranteed, Qatar’s interior minister assured her.
“The Prime Minister has said that he will do everything for the safety of the people,” said Faeser. “It is something very important that people are safe when they come here.” Faeser said that she will therefore also travel to the first game of the German national soccer team at the World Cup on November 23 against Japan, said the SPD politician , in order to remain “in constant exchange”. Progress on reform efforts would need to continue after the World Cup.
Faeser also hits Infantino
In Doha, Faeser also spoke to Hassan Al Thawadi, head of Qatar’s World Cup organizing committee, and Gianni Infantino, president of the International Football Association in Doha. Faeser had made her visit to the World Cup conditional on the Qatar government’s security guarantee, which contradicts the legal situation in the emirate. Just last week, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch documented cases of arbitrary arrests and abuse in Qatar.
In six cases between 2019 and 2022, people who had been arrested by security forces because of their sexual orientation or sexual identity were repeatedly and severely beaten in detention, and five cases involved sexual assaults. And Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said in June, when he visited the Chancellor in Berlin to sign the energy partnership between the emirate and Germany, that all fans were welcome during the World Cup. Addendum: “But we expect and want them to respect our culture.” All right?
No statement with Faeser: Infantino’s organization is keeping a low profile.
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Image: dpa
Faeser had made the travel resolution to hear more about it from the Emir’s prime minister and interior minister. Bernd Neuendorf, the President of the German Football Association (DFB), who was involved in the travel preparations for months, said he had informed himself in numerous discussions “in the community” before departure. Benjamin Näßler from Frankfurt, “Mr. Gay Germany 2020 and 2021”. According to his own statements, with his campaign “Love knows no break” he is demanding a sign from the DFB for the LGBTQ community during the World Cup.
Faeser’s trip, three weeks before the tournament, had already been on the razor’s edge. Referring to the award of the tournament to Qatar, she told the ARD magazine Monitor, despite the deficits in terms of human rights and sustainability: “For us as the federal government, this is a very difficult award. There are criteria that must be adhered to, and then it would be better that this is not awarded in such states.”
The excitement in the host country was great. It was said that Faeser had to offer an apology or at least clarify something. Neither the one nor the other was heard from the Minister of the Interior. While the federal government’s Human Rights Commissioner, Luise Amtsberg, canceled her flight to Doha planned for Saturday and stated that critical talks were not possible in the current atmosphere, Faeser flew on Monday morning. She wants, said Faeser, three weeks before the opening of the World Cup to address topics that are overshadowed by the games of the German team during the tournament – or that could burden them.
