An Australian fan who was invited on an all-expenses-paid trip to the World Cup in Qatar has turned down the offer for ethical reasons, saying he didn’t want to be seen as a “mouthpiece” for the host country.
Pablo Bateson – a diehard Socceroos supporter who attended 47 consecutive World Cup qualifiers between 2008 and 2017 – had been promised free flights and accommodation to attend by the Qatari Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, who are organising the tournament with FIFA.
Pablo Bateson has turned down a trip to the World Cup because he doesn’t want to be seen as a “mouthpiece” for tournament organisers.Credit:Steven Siewert
He initially said yes but changed his mind after learning it was part of a scheme involving up to 50 fans from each of the 32 competing nations, who would be required to sing designated chants at the opening ceremony, “like” and amplify certain posts on social media, and refrain from criticising Qatar’s human rights record.
The fans would also be directed to report any “offensive, degrading or abusive comments” they see on social media, according to international reports based on documents related to the so-called Fan Leader Network program being funded by the Supreme Committee – for which Socceroos legend Tim Cahill, who lives in Doha, is an official ambassador.
Despite having secured tickets for Australia’s Group D matches, Bateson said he had shelved plans to go to the World Cup due to financial reasons when he received an email “out of the blue” with the unsolicited offer from an Australian “fan leader”, who he declined to identify.
“My reaction was ‘wow, I am going to go to the World Cup’,” Bateson told the Herald and The Age.
“But then reflecting more, and just the publicity of the last week internationally around these fan guest programs and these paid trips, it made me rethink the whole thing … Is this consistent with my core personal values? I was feeling increasingly stressed about it.
“When I came to it, no, it’s not right. I want to go to the World Cup, but I feel like they’ve just pushed money, desperate to get credibility … This whole program was really thought up not long ago, just in recent months, and it kind of just accelerated.”
The Associated Press has reported that those who accepted will receive economy flights to Doha, the use of apartments worth several thousand dollars, and a daily allowance of 250 Qatari riyals ($106), but will have to abide by other terms and conditions.
Documents seen by the AP told fan leaders “we are not asking you to [be] a mouthpiece for Qatar” but “it would obviously not be appropriate for you to disparage” the nation or the tournament, which has been shrouded in controversy from the moment FIFA awarded the hosting rights in 2010.
Bateson said he never signed any documentation for the program and was told he had no requirement to report other people’s social media comments to the Supreme Committee.
“I can’t be associated with that, even the perception of it. There’s no way I would start dobbing in other fans for their social media tweets, it’s just not on,” he said.
“They were hoping to use this, I think, to attract really positive publicity and focus around the football and not the issues around labour rights and LGBTQ rights, and so on.
“I have to be true to myself, that’s the key thing. Quite frankly, if I’ve got credibility after the World Cup to be an advocate for football fans and human rights issues … if I’ve accepted this trip, where’s my credibility?”
The program has been slammed by prominent European-based supporter groups, who have said those who do should be seen as “employees or volunteers” of the World Cup.
Qatar’s Supreme Committee has downplayed such criticism and insisted people involved were free to act as they wished, with no obligations and no ambassadorial expectations.
“The other 49 Australian fans, I respect them and I don’t want to see them undermined. They’ve taken the opportunity, that’s fine. I hope they enjoy it … good luck to them,” Bateson said. “But then I think it comes back to the motive of the Supreme Committee, and also FIFA for setting that concept.”
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