Fifa president accuses Europe of hypocrisy

On the eve of the World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino accused Western countries of criticizing host nation Qatar's human rights record as hypocritical.
Infantino made these allegations in an hour-long speech.

He said European countries should apologize for what they have done in the past before admonishing Qatar on morality.

At a press conference in Doha, Gianni Infantino spoke alone for almost an hour without precedent and made emotional comments in support of Qatar and the tournament.

Before the start of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, criticism over the death of migrant workers and the country's treatment of LGBT people overshadowed the actual tournament.

Swiss-born Infantino said European countries should look back at their past history and apologize for what they have done before talking about migrant workers in Qatar.

He said, 'I am also European. What we have done in different countries of the world for three thousand years, before giving moral education, we should express regret for the next three thousand years.

He said, if Europe is really serious about the future of these people, they should open a legal way for these immigrants to work like in Qatar, so that they can come and work in Europe. Give them a future, give them hope. In his words, this one-sided moral education is just hypocrisy.

Infantino said he did not understand why Qatar's progress since 2016 was being recognized.

Referring to his personal experience as a child, he said he understands what it means to be discriminated against and harassed as a foreigner on foreign soil. He also highlighted his support for people from the LGBT community and immigrants.

It should be noted that the World Cup tournament will start today between the hosts Qatar and Ecuador at the Al Bayat Stadium in Qatar.

Source: BBC