After World Cup criticism from Faeser: Qatar summons German ambassador

Interior Minister Faeser’s critical words about the human rights situation in Qatar have consequences: the country’s foreign ministry summoned the German ambassador – and handed him a note of protest.

Qatar’s foreign ministry has summoned the German ambassador and handed him a protest note on the statements made by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser about the 2022 World Cup in his country. The Foreign Office in Berlin only confirmed that the German ambassador had been invited to the meeting.

The Minister of the Interior, who is also responsible for sports, had the ARD magazine monitor said that awarding the World Cup to Qatar was “totally difficult” for the federal government. “There are criteria that have to be adhered to, and then it would be better if it weren’t awarded to such states,” criticized the minister. She later added that in the future, international sporting events should be awarded more attention to human rights aspects than before.

World Cup from November 20th

From November 20, the World Cup will take place in the Gulf state, which is controversial both because of the date at the end of the year and because of human rights allegations against the country. Women and men do not have equal rights in the country. It is also estimated that up to 6,500 foreign workers died during the construction of the World Cup stadiums. Qatar rejects this and speaks of fewer than 50 fatalities.

Scholz had spoken of progress

During his visit to Qatar, Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke of progress in the treatment of employees, even if the conditions in Qatar did not correspond to those in Germany.