Two pub owners in Germany will not be showing matches from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
They said they took the decision from โan ethical standpointโ given the Gulf stateโs record on human rights.
Qatar, the first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup, has come under intense international pressure for its treatment of foreign workers and restrictive social laws.
Disquiet over the countryโs human rights record has led to calls for teams and officials to boycott the games at the Nov. 20 to Dec. 18 tournament.
โToo many human rights were violated and from an ethical standpoint, I canโt justify it,โ Fanny Delaune, owner of โBabelโ sports bar in Bonn, told Reuters.
โSome understand it and others will watch anyway. But, ultimately, itโs my bar and my decision.โ
Tobias Epping, who owns โDie Wacheโ bar in the city, will also do the same.
โNot just me but also my regular customers who I asked to vote on Facebook and Instagram decided not to show the World Cup because there was a point when we said โenoughโ,โ he said.
โThe number of workers killed went beyond 15,000, stadiums are air conditioned during times like these and you canโt even drink a beer which, for me as a bar owner, obviously is a part of it. No. We can no longer support that.
โFrom an economic point of view: was this a smart decision? Probably not. But at least you can go to a bar with a clean conscienceโฆโ
A Guardian newspaper analysis in Feb. 2021 concluded 6,500 South Asian migrants had died in Qatar since 2010.
The International Labour Organisation has however said Qatar is not adequately reporting worker deaths.
Qatarโs World Cup organisers, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), have disputed claims that thousands of people have died during the preparations for the tournament.
Qatarโs government has said its labour system is a work in progress, but denied a 2021 Amnesty report that thousands of migrant workers were still being exploited.
A female fan, who did not share her name, said she would support the boycott by the bars.
โEven if Qatar had great stadiums and fantastically paid workers, in any case a World Cup during the (European) winter is stupid,โ she said.
โBut in this case, itโs totally unacceptable. I donโt feel like watching and I fully support a boycott. I wonโt be watching.โ
The SC has promised a carbon neutral World Cup.
It says the stadium cooling systems require about a fifth of the energy typical to cool spaces of the same size, such as airport terminals or closed baseball fields.
The World Cup will be held in late autumn, when Qatarโs summer heat has subsided and temperatures usually fall to mid-20 degrees Celsius (75 Fahrenheit).(Reuters/NAN)