Keir Starmer to boycott controversial Qatar World Cup

Qatar's controversial past makes headlines again...

Daniel Logan
12th November 2022
Image: The Courier
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has fully established his position on Qatar holding this winter’s FIFA World Cup. He declared on Leading Britain’s Conversation he ‘would not attend,’ even if England made it to the final of the competition, and that it was not only his stance but also ‘the position of the Labour Party.’

Since 2010, when it was announced that the middle eastern nation of Qatar would be hosting the World Cup, both the nation’s nonexistent footballing history and questionable moral compass have been severely scrutinized by political figures, celebrities, brands, and even footballing teams, amongst many others.

Reminiscent to even last year when the Saudi group completed the takeover of Newcastle United, the question across the news outlets was, should we just ignore the record of human rights these nations hold?

In an interview with Nick Ferrari, Starmer covered many bases relevant to the chaotic current political climate, and after talking shop about Sunak, Boris, Northern Ireland, rail strikes, and of course the usual mention of how he was former Director of Public Prosecutions, the football fanatic opposition leader revealed it was that ‘the human rights record is such’ that he ‘wouldn’t go.’

Talking on behalf of his colleagues, he responded to Ferrari’s question as to whether any party colleagues would appear at the finals, in which the reply was an emphatic "no" in a tone intended to send a message to party members. Unity and loyalty are such in British politics at the moment that Starmer stating the position of the party has next to no relevance regarding the individual preference and opinion, and who will or won’t attend, however, especially for a Labour member it is a move that could be considered political suicide.

The reply was an emphatic "no"

To build the infrastructure required by the tournament, Qatar employed 30,000 laborers from South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, etc. Amnesty International claimed in 2016 that migrant workers were having their salaries withheld, their passports taken away, and living in filthy conditions. From 2016 to now, having said they would fix this shambolic treatment, it is still being reported that wages are being withheld and workers are subject to long gruelling hours.

In February 2021 The Guardian reported that 6,500 migrant workers had died since Qatar was awarded the World Cup, a figure Qatar disputes. That is a figure of approximately 10 a week. Is hosting a World Cup really worth the souls of 6,500 people? FIFA is as much to blame in this as Qatar, the weakness on display by former president Sepp Blatter, and his accomplices, to award this competition to Qatar, resulting in these tragedies only for monetary gifts, really turned the beautiful game into a bribery game. There is no wonder Starmer takes this position, I would just like to think the party in government would have the moral backbone to do the same, even with the possibility that the World Cup is coming home.

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