Spee and De Jong contacted Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and Hassan Al Thawadi, the presidents of the Qatar Football Association and the organizing committee for the World Cup. Like FIFA, they had asked for clarification when they heard that Van Gaal thought it was ridiculous that the World Cup will be held in the rich oil state at the end of this year. “We are going to play in a country to, how does FIFA say that, to develop football there,” said the national coach of Orange. “And you do that by organizing a tournament in that country. That’s bullshit. It’s about money, commercial interests. That matters at FIFA.”
“They have often been to Europe and the United States and I think they have studied and worked there,” said De Jong. “They know we are more direct. But the statements can also be misunderstood. So that’s why we explained them again. Is the cold out of the air? You never know, of course, but I think you do. It was a good conversation.”
“You can achieve something by talking,” said Spee, who saw Lise Klaveness, the new chairman of the Norwegian Football Association, clash with the organizing committee of the World Cup during the congress. Norway has not qualified but has seriously considered boycotting the World Cup in Qatar.
“The Honduras union was not pleased with the Norwegian criticism about, among other things, human rights in Qatar,” Spee said. “They wanted to stick to football. We are not in favor of a boycott because in my opinion you will not achieve the goal that way. But we do want to commit ourselves to social changes and improvements in the long term. That’s how we’ve been doing it for years.”
Van Gaal is missing in Doha, where the draw for the World Cup will be held on Friday. He was unable to submit a negative test after a recent corona infection.
Van Gaal said last week that he thinks it is “ridiculous” that the World Cup will be held in Qatar at the end of this year. “We are going to play in a country to, how does FIFA say, to develop football there. And you do that by organizing a tournament in that country. That’s bullshit,” said the national coach. “It’s about money, commercial interests. That matters at FIFA.”