Markus Lanz talks to his guests on ZDF about the “moral dilemma” of the World Cup in Qatar.
There has been a strange feeling in Qatar for months before the start of this World Cup, and not just because of the unusual playing time. Marcel Reif “is looking forward to football”, even if he cannot ignore the social discussions and it will therefore be a “clouded joy”. Andreas Rettig’s “passion for football will be greater than reason” too, because he at least wants to watch the German games. But in the opening match (Qatar vs. Ecuador) he will be in Cologne pubs at the counter-event. And there are many pub owners nationwide who say: “I don’t have football for the World Cup”.
“And if the Germans are in the final?” asks Markus Lanz (ZDF). Andreas Rettig was in Rio for the last world championship title, but currently he can’t “jump over the shadow” there either: He won’t even travel to Qatar for a German final. “Football love doesn’t go that far after all.”
Markus Lanz on ZDF: The guests on October 19th
| Marcel Reif | football commentator |
| Sebastian Sons | Islamic scholar |
| Andrew Rettig | football official |
| Lena Kassel | sports journalist |
Markus Lanz: A “depraved system” through and through
In 2010, Qatar had the “verifiably worst application”: climatic problems, corruption and the “country is as big as Schleswig-Holstein,” Andreas Rettig lists indignantly. So FIFA is “the main culprit” in the disaster, because the institution also failed to “include human rights issues in the bid process.” Twenty-two men made the decision based on bribes, “and how many of them have a case at the Hacke?” Markus Lanz (ZDF) interrupts him. “Many,” gesticulates wildly, Andreas Rettig: “That’s why it’s hard to question them,” because “they’re in jail.” Even then, people thought “it can’t get any worse” with Mr. Blatter, “but Mr. Infantino is even better everything”: This one moved straight to Doha (the capital of Qatar) because “business is easier to manage there.”
And Qatar? Immediately after the World Cup was awarded, the country introduced the kafala system, which made it easier to “recruit migrants”, explains Sebastian Sons. “You can transfer people for a certain agency fee,” you can make good money with that, and often “the intermediaries are criminals.” That’s why Sebastian Sons finds the criticism in the run-up to this World Cup so important: “The fact that people say we’re taking a closer look towards” the “exploitation of migrant workers”, because that is “a global phenomenon of a capitalist society”: The people in the “sports system” also have a “responsibility to draw attention to this” and not add fuel to the fire to water.
Markus Lanz on ZDF: “Every death is one too many”
Andreas Rettig has the “romantic notion” that “not watching” the 2022 World Cup is enough – if “many leave the blocks black” – for the sponsors to question whether it makes sense to continue investing their money in such events , which are actually “socially rejected”. Everyone can “contribute to this on a small scale” and “lack of ratings is particularly helpful.” Although he is not (yet) aware of any sporting event that “has eliminated social grievances”: But the dead there “are only brought to our attention” because “many were loud and the public was looking.”
For Lena Cassel, this football World Cup caricatures everything that sport should stand for in her eyes. It’s only a further icing on the cake that the numbers of the dead are also published by the World Cup organizing committee from Qatar, she gets upset with Markus Lanz (ZDF).
“It’s a bit like the church investigating its own abuse scandals” – “moral standards are not flexible just because the price is right.” (Tina Waldeck)
