November 18 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has recognized that Qatar does not respect Human Rights, but has asked his compatriots to “forget that” and focus on cheering on the national team.
Two days after the ball starts rolling in this criticized FIFA World Cup, Rebelo de Sousa has responded in this way to those from Portugal who have asked both him and the Prime Minister, António Costa, to boycott the event.
“Qatar does not respect Human Rights. The construction of the stadiums and such, in short, let’s forget this. It is objectionable, but let’s focus on the team,” said Rebelo de Sousa after the friendly match that Portugal played in Lisbon this Thursday against Nigeria, with a massive victory for the Portuguese (4-0).
Rebelo de Sousa has revealed that he has spoken with the Portuguese players who will go to Qatar and has told them that it will be “a very difficult championship”, not only in sports, but also due to the controversial circumstances surrounding the tournament, according to the news agency lusa
In turn, the Rebelo de Sousa has confirmed that he will travel to Qatar to attend the training of the Portuguese team on Thursday the 24th. “Next week, in Portugal Ghana, I will be there,” he announced.
Several rights organizations have described the next soccer event as “the World Cup of shame”, after verifying violations and labor abuses during the construction of the lavish stadiums that will host the matches of the 32 teams that will play the tournament.
Qatar is under global scrutiny after it was revealed that thousands of people had died during the construction of soccer stadiums in extremely long working hours and under high temperatures.
The figures oscillate between the most conservative that speak of thirty deaths, which are those offered by the executive committee in charge of organizing the World Cup, fifty according to a 2021 report from the International Labor Organization (ILO), or the 6,500 deaths reported by some media, such as the British newspaper ‘The Guardian’.
