FIFA president Gianni Infantino has hit back at allegations of fake fans at the World Cup in Qatar, labelling the criticism “pure racism”.
The World Cup gets underway on Monday morning AEDT when the host nation Qatar takes on Ecuador, but off-field controversies have overshadowed the lead up to football’s showpiece event.
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Infantino was mocked for a lengthy rant in which he slammed criticism of Qatar’s human rights record, blasting the “hypocrisy” of Western critics on the eve of the World Cup.
There have long been allegations Qatar has paid locals to appear as “fake fans” of the various teams, and videos emerging of the so-called supports are making observers very cynical.
The footage shared online shows large groups of men, reportedly consisting of men mostly of Indian ancestry, sporting the jerseys and carrying near identical banners that read ‘England fans Qatar’ or ‘Germany fans Qatar’
In one of the videos, the fans can be heard butchering England’s famous catch-cry “It’s coming home”.
It has done little to quell speculation the people have been hired to build up hype and atmosphere ahead of the World Cup.
In his rambling speech this weekend, Infantino hit back at suggestions the fans are fake.
The FIFA boss said: “I am reading that these people don’t look English so they can’t cheer for England, they look like Indians.
“What is that? Can someone who looks Indian not cheer for England, Spain or Germany?
“You know what it is? This is racism, pure racism. Everyone in the world has the right to cheer for who they want.”
He went on to say: “I think for what we Europeans have been doing the last 3000 years we should be apologising for next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons to people.”
Infantino, speaking at his opening press conference of the tournament in Doha, also expressed support for the LGBTQ community and migrant workers.
He added: “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.”
Qatar officials say their country has been the target of “racism” and “double standards”.
They point to the reforms on working conditions and safety that have been hailed as groundbreaking in the Gulf region.
“This moral lesson-giving – one-sided – is just hypocrisy,” Infantino said.
“I don’t want to give you any lessons of life, but what is going on here is profoundly, profoundly unjust.”
