The Dutch Bonds coach Louis van Gaal wants to show off so convincingly with the national soccer team at the World Cup in Qatar that the fans at home even forget a possible boycott of the tournament. Of course, the supporters have “the right” to boycott the World Cup.
“They believe it’s right. That’s why I have no problem with it,” said the former head coach of record champions Bayern Munich on Wednesday before Oranje’s first training session in Qatar. But he hopes, added van Gaal, “that we play so fantastically that at the end of the day, when we’re in the final, they’ll still turn on the TV to see how good we are.”
In many European countries, fan representatives have openly called for a boycott of the controversial World Cup in the Persian Gulf emirate (November 20 to December 18). This is also the case in Germany. The treatment of migrant workers, women and members of the LGBTQ community in Qatar has been repeatedly criticized.
The Dutch association KNVB had recently once again turned against FIFA boss Gianni Infantino because he had appealed to the 32 participating member associations to now concentrate on football and refrain from disturbing background noise.
Van Gaal described the decision to award the 2010 World Cup to Qatar as “ridiculous”. “I think you should play in real football countries, they have more experience in every way,” said van Gaal on Wednesday.