Arsene Wenger’s “stupid” comments around the Qatar World Cup have undermined his credibility, according to Norway manager Stale Solbakken.
Wenger joined FIFA as the organisation’s chief of global football development in November 2019 after stepping down as Arsenal manager in May 2018 after 22 years at the helm. While part of his job involves proposing rule changes and promoting technical innovation, he has also spoken about other issues involving FIFA.
Earlier this month, he drew widespread criticism for his comments about “political demonstrations” made by players at the World Cup. Wenger appeared to suggest that players should concentrate on matches, rather than highlighting issues surrounding LGBTQ+ rights and migrant workers in Qatar.
"It shudders me to see that the smartest man in the world, Arsene Wenger, who has been looked up to over the years, has somehow been brainwashed and is now making the most stupid statements," Solbakken told Norwegian TV channel TV2.
"It's scary with all the people we've looked up to in the football world for years. There is a polarisation taking place right now. And I'm afraid that it will only get worse."
Wenger has followed the party line of FIFA, who have sought to keep the focus on the football, rather than the plethora of issues away from the pitch. Several teams dropped plans to wear the One Love armband, in support of LGBTQ+ people, after FIFA threatened yellow cards.
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Germany’s players therefore posed with their hands over their mouths, while Denmark and Australia both spoke up about human rights issues. Norway did not qualify for the World Cup, but have consistently been the most vocal nation on such problems – and Solbakken has encouraged his players to speak their minds.
“FIFA has been the biggest failing,” he said on the eve of the tournament. “I think nobody is comfortable with it. My personal concerns are on the human rights issue and how FIFA have handled it, which has not been good. I don’t think football has done enough, I don’t think journalists have done enough.
“It’s only in the last few years that it is suddenly ‘oh the World Cup in Qatar’. The first years after it was given to Qatar, the whole world was more or less asleep, including football people and journalists. We have had strong feelings about Qatar all along, and have tried to put pressure on FIFA and on the political side of it.”
Speaking in Doha in his role as a member of FIFA’s Technical Study Group, Wenger said: “The teams who have the experience to perform in tournaments, like France and England, played well in the first game.
“The teams who were mentally ready, with a mindset to focus on competition, and not the political demonstrations [did well].”
