Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Blow

"Absolute disgrace" - Jamie Carragher lets rip at "corrupt" Qatar World Cup

Jamie Carragher believes it is "corrupt" that Qatar are allowed to host this year's World Cup amid the tournament's growing injury list.

The controversial World Cup starts on November 20 and has drawn criticism since Qatar were named as the hosts in December 2010. There are serious concerns about human rights in the country, as well as its suitability to host a tournament of this magnitude.

Carragher has been a vocal critic of the Qatar World Cup for many years and was keen to make his voice heard again on Tuesday evening when Tottenham forward Heung-min Son suffered a concussion against Marseille. He is now a doubt for the tournament.

As the World Cup starts just a week after the Premier League draws to a halt, there will be no warm-up games to help injured players step up their recoveries. As such, some big-name stars are expected to miss the tournament with short-term injuries.

"I think it's an absolute disgrace that the World Cup is in the position that it's in," Carragher told CBS Sports. "For lots of reasons. I think that it was corrupt that Qatar were given the World Cup, and we knew at the time when they campaigned on having it in the summer, it was impossible to have a World Cup in the summer due to the temperature.

"It gets moved to the situation where it is now in the middle of the season, and players who spend their whole lives dreaming of playing in the World Cup as we see with Son.

Jamie Carragher does not believe this year's World Cup should've been awarded to Qatar (Getty Images)

Do you agree with Jamie Carragher? Let us know in the comments below!

"Thierry [Henry] just mentioned Gavi, players all around Europe and the world could get injured... a ten day injury is going to keep players out of the World Cup, which should not be happening, and it all started with FIFA giving them the World Cup in the first place.

"Then they're moving it and obviously, the stuff that goes on in their countries are a completely different issue as well. But I think it's absolutely disgusting."

This year's World Cup is the first not to be held in the European summer, as Qatar's intense heat in June and July forced FIFA to push the tournament back to November and December. That has caused havoc with this season's European schedule.

It's believed at least 6,500 migrant workers have died since Qatar started building the infrastructure for the tournament, although the organisers have denied this. There are also serious concerns over the safety of LGBT+ fans, as homosexuality is illegal in Qatar.

Furthermore, thousands of fans will be priced out of attending the World Cup due to the cost of hotels and refreshments, with pints of lager costing up to £15.50. The organisers are also planning on taking drunk fans to special zones to sober them up.

Carragher has been a vocal critic of the Qatar World Cup for many years. He told Sky Sports in 2014: "It's just madness that they've got the competition in the first place, I think, considering the conditions and how difficult it is going to be for players to play there."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.