Blatter Says Qatar Award Was A Mistake

Blatter Says Qatar Award Was A Mistake

The decision to give Qatar the right to host the 2022 World Cup was a “mistake,” according to former Fifa president Sepp Blatter.

When Qatar was given the opportunity to host the event in 2010, Blatter, 86, served as the head of the organisation that governs international football.

For its attitude on same-sex partnerships, human rights record, and treatment of migrant labour, the Gulf state has drawn criticism.

Khalid Salman, the ambassador for Qatar at the World Cup, has warned that homosexuality “damages the psyche.”

According to the former Qatari international, LGBTQ+ spectators at the competition should “respect our regulations.”

Concern has been raised concerning the treatment of LGBTQ+ persons in Qatar, where same-sex partnerships and the advocacy of such relationships are illegal and punishable by fines or even the death penalty.

When Russia was chosen to host the 2018 event, the Fifa executive committee voted 14-8 to grant Qatar the right to host the tournament in place of the United States 12 years prior.

Blatter claims he supported the US and accuses Michel Platini, who was president of UEFA at the time, of swaying the decision in Qatar’s favour.

As president at the time, “I was accountable for it because it was a stupid choice,” he added.

“The World Cup was awarded to Qatar rather than the United States thanks to the four votes cast by Platini and his [UEFA] team.
It’s accurate.”

Blatter said that after complaints regarding the exploitation of migrant workers constructing the World Cup venues in Qatar, Fifa changed the criteria used to choose host nations in 2012.