The FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, said he felt "Arab", "gay", "migrant worker", during the inaugural press conference of the World Cup in Qatar, in Doha. "Today I feel Qatari, today I feel Arab, today I feel African, today I feel gay, today I feel disabled, today I feel migrant worker ," he said in his introductory speech. World Cup organizers in Qatar are facing fierce criticism over human rights and discrimination, particularly from the LGBTQ movement, as the start of the tournament scheduled for tomorrow approaches.
The introductory metaphor, Infantino observes, "brings me back to my personal story, because I am the son of migrant workers," he said. "I know what it means to be discriminated against, harassed as a foreigner. As a child I was discriminated against (in Switzerland) because I had red hair and freckles: I was Italian and spoke German badly ".
And again: " Among the big companies that earn billions in Qatar, how many have solved the question of the fate of migrant workers? None, because a change in legislation equals lower profits. But we did it," he said at the conference press, before asking, "Why doesn't anyone recognize this progress?"
Qatar is heavily criticized by humanitarian organizations for its treatment of migrant workers, particularly in the construction, security and domestic work sectors, as well as by LGBTQ movements. Accusations forcefully rejected by the authorities, who underline that they have reformed the labor laws. The organizers of the World Cup assure that members of the LGBTQ community will be welcomed without discrimination, despite the laws criminalizing same-sex sexual relations in the country.
On LGBTQ rights, Infantino, president of Fifa since 2016 and the only candidate to succeed him in 2023, assured that the Qatari authorities had given him the guarantee that "everyone" would be "welcome" during the World Cup. "If anyone says otherwise, it's not the country's opinion, and it's not the opinion of FIFA," said Infantino.
Soon after there was the coming out of Bryan Swanson, head of Fifa media relations, came at the end of the press conference held by president Gianni Infantino , on the eve of the start of the World Cup hosted by the small emirate, where the homosexuality is considered a crime. Swanson took the floor to defend Infantino, who in his opinion is the victim of "criticism" coming "in particular from the LGBTQ+ community". "I would like to say something taking advantage of this opportunity - said Swanson, 42, originally from Edinburgh, a former Sky Sports reporter, who has headed media relations since 2021 - I am here in Qatar in a privileged position, facing all the world, as a gay man," he said. And he added that he believes Doha's assurances that all visitors, regardless of sexual orientation, will be "welcome". .
