Qatar World Cup boycott makes no sense any more

Former Germany player, Thomas Hitzlsperger, believes a boycott of the World Cup in Qatar, doesn’t makes sense at this point, with the tournament to start on November 20.

“The stadiums are ready, everything has been prepared and the damage, such as the deaths in connection to the construction of the stadiums, can no longer be repaired,” he told an interview to the news portal t-online published on Monday.

“We have to continue addressing the irregularities, and point out to the fact that how the World Cup has materialized is not working,” he said.

A boycott is not a constructive solution any more, Hitzlsperger said. “If everyone involved would participate in the boycott, then ok. But if only a few were to take part, that would not be effective.”

After the end of his career, Hitzlsperger came out as homosexual, and has taken a position at the German football federation (DFB) as ambassador for diversity.

About the fact that homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, he said, “when we talk about homosexual rights, such as the fact that two men aren’t allowed to show affection to each other in public, we must also remember that a man and a woman aren’t allowed to do that either.”