Care about human rights? Stop watching football

Football is far from the innocent game of fun that it used to be when I was a child. Nowadays it’s heavenly influenced by oil money from countries with somewhat questionable “human rights”.

This week, the Spanish Super Cup is played. Four Spanish top teams competing in a small Spanish tournament. But it doesn’t take place in Spanish stadiums. The players will be kicking the ball around on Saudi Arabian soil. A country who allegedly ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and who’s proven to have “difficulties” with basic human rights.

Meanwhile, a prince of Saudi Arabia has bought the English football club, Newcastle United; David Beckham is an ambassador for the World Cup in Qatar, and Danish women’s national team star, Nadia Nadim, is taking part in promoting Qatar as well. English top team, Manchester City, is owned by one the Arab Emirs, and Qatar Airways (see: the country itself) sponsored the EURO 2020 tournament and are heavenly involved in sponsorships of FC Bayern and FC Barcelona among others.

It goes without saying that I’m against all of this – and frankly, it’s horrendous to be a supporter of football and be left a helpless witness to all of this. But what am I supposed to do about it?

So far, it’s been a puzzle of mine, but over the Christmas Holiday I had an idea: we’ve got to stop watching the games where these kinds of states are involved. And yesterday, for the first time I saw a famous footballers voice of resaon in this matter. The French legend, Eric Cantona, told the media, that he’s not going to watch the World Cup in Qatar because “it’s only about money” and that they’ve treated the stadium workers “horribly”.

But we’re yet to see the current professional footballers do anything serious about it.

Vague footballers

In a recent documentary about the Danish national football teams’ eventful journey of the EURO 2020 (2021) last summer, players Thomas Delaney and Kasper Schmeichel made some “critical” comments about the upcoming World Cup taking place in Qatar later this year. Delaney stated, that “players are taken hostages” in these matters, while Schmeichel said that he was “happy to be qualified” but that he “could’ve wished” it didn’t take place in the Middle Eastern country.

And both the German, Norwegian and Danish national teams have stated their opinion ahead of recent matches. Wearing black t-shirts, spelling out the words “human rights” in white letters the players of the German nation football team made their opinion known to the world, that a World Cup in Qatar later this year is a critical matter.

But it’s not nearly enough! So… We must do something ourselves as fans. As human beings.

Cosy Christmas Eve discussions

This came to me as I found myself in a rather interesting and – fair to say – quite heated discussion around the dinner table with my family. I’d been looking forward to this topic because I’d gotten wind about one of my family members wanting to move to Dubai. Mainly because of the possibility of the zero-taxes, luxurious life he would be able to live there.

I was looking forward to hearing his points of view and justifications for this upcoming relocation. But I was stunned. He was arguing that all the migrant workers who’ve died in the building of stadiums for the Qatar World Cup (according to The Guardian: 6.500) – they all “had a choice” to say, “no thanks, I’m not working in this heat with these dangerous conditions”. He was immune to the mine and the rest of the table’s arguments. And even though he was one against five family members, he came out of the discussion with only scratches if you ask him.

But at least I didn’t let it be un-challenged that he wants to move there. And that’s what we must do: challenge the people around you on why they would financially support and thereby approve of these countries wrong doings by vacationing there. I for one will never travel there.

And regarding the football scene, I will not watch the Spanish Super Cup this week. And if the players of “my” national team, Denmark, are not boycotting the World Cup, I intend to do as Cantona: not watching the tournament. And so should you.