FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been heavily criticised for his speech on the eve of the World Cup in Qatar.
Both Everton and Liverpool have players that will be taking part in the competition in the Middle East. The tournament starts on Sunday, with host nation Qatar taking on Ecuador.
Liverpool have seven players at the tournament with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson, Alisson Becker, Fabinho, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Darwin Nunez all included for their respective countries.
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For Everton, they have four of their stars present in Qatar. Jordan Pickford, Conor Coady, Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gueye will all be in the country for their respective nations, too.
Earlier this morning, Infantino faced the cameras to look ahead to the tournament and was instantly under fire for the content of his address. He spoke for almost an hour and his monologue made a controversial case for defending Qatar as host country, despite the deaths of numerous migrant workers and troubling questions around treatment of LGBTQ+ people.
Rory Smith for the New York Times tweeted: “What's really striking about this (absolutely extraordinary) speech from Infantino is how angry and bitter and...unhappy he seems on the eve of what is, in theory, meant to be the world's greatest sporting carnival and his crowning achievement.”
Meanwhile, Matt Dickinson of The Times said: “FIFA boss Infantino told World Cup nations two weeks ago not to drag football into every ideological/political battle. He is now 45 mins into a speech on global immigration, workers rights, LGBT issues, European colonialism, freckles, female suffrage, racism, disability, orientalism…”
And Dominic King of the Mail Online wrote: “Gianni Infantino is 26 minutes into a remarkable monologue, in which he has ferociously criticised Europe for double standards on [the] issue of migrant workers.” While later adding: "A staggering, surreal, baffling audience with Gianni Infantino. 56 minutes of bluster and delusion."
*Below is a transcript of Infantino's quotes, with more updates as we get them:
Infantino on Europe and 'hypocrisy':
Ahead of the opening game of the tournament on Sunday, Infantino said: "Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arabic. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel (like) a migrant worker.
"Of course I am not Qatari, I am not an Arab, I am not African, I am not gay, I am not disabled. But I feel like it, because I know what it means to be discriminated, to be bullied, as a foreigner in a foreign country. As a child I was bullied - because I had red hair and freckles, plus I was Italian so imagine.
"What do you do then? You try to engage, make friends. Don't start accusing, fighting, insulting, you start engaging. And this is what we should be doing."
Infantino added: "We have told many, many lessons from some Europeans, from the western world. I think for what we Europeans have been doing the last 3,000 years we should be apologising for next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons to people.
"I have difficulties understanding the criticism. We have to invest in helping these people, in education and to give them a better future and more hope. We should all educate ourselves, many things are not perfect but reform and change takes time.
"This one-sided moral lesson is just hypocrisy. I wonder why no-one recognises the progress made here since 2016.
"It is not easy to take the critics of a decision that was made 12 years ago. Qatar is ready, it will be the best World Cup ever. I don't have to defend Qatar, they can defend themselves. I defend football. Qatar has made progress and I feel many other things as well."
Infantino on migrant workers, and homosexuality being illegal in Qatar:
In quotes cited by the Mirror, Infantino implored European nations to improve their own record on migrant workers before attacking Qatar and FIFA itself.
He said: “If Europe would really care about the destiny of these young people, Europe could do as Qatar did, create some legal channels where at least a number, a percentage of these workers could come.
“Lower revenues…give them some hope, give them some future. This means we shouldn’t point to what doesn’t work. Here in Qatar as well there are some things that don’t work. That needs to be addressed."
He continued: "We need to give hope to Africans so that they don’t need to cross the Mediterranean in order to find, maybe, a better life but more probably death in the sea. We need to give opportunity and we need to give dignity, not by giving charity but by allowing the rest of the world to participate.”
Asked about the issue of homosexuality being illegal in Qatar, Infantino insisted he and the organisers can “guarantee” the safety of gay fans.
He said: “They’ve (the Qatari organizers) confirmed and I can confirm that everyone here is welcome. If you have a person here and there who says the opposite, it’s not the opinion of the country. It’s certainly not the opinion of FIFA.”
Infantino on the alcohol decision:
Earlier this week, FIFA announced the decision for no alcohol to be served at any of the eight stadiums hosting World Cup games. This was a significant change from the initial position. Those watching on from corporate areas of grounds at the tournament will still be able to buy alcohol.
Addressing the u-turn, the BBC reports that Infantino said today: "If this is the biggest issue we have for the World Cup then I will resign immediately and go to the beach to relax.
"Let me first assure you that every decision taken at this World Cup is a joint decision between Qatar and FIFA.
"There will be many fan zones where you can buy alcohol in Qatar and fans can simultaneously drink alcohol. I think if for three hours a day you cannot drink a beer, you will survive.
"Especially because the same rules apply in France, Spain, Portugal and Scotland. Here it has become a big thing because it is a Muslim country? I don't know why. We tried and that is why I give you the late change of policy. We tried to see if it was possible."
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