The Football Association have approached Amnesty to brief England players on Qatar’s human rights record ahead of crucial talks scheduled for March.
Sportmail understands that England players are expected to decide early next year whether to protest against World Cup host Qatar’s dreadful human rights history during pivotal discussions at St George’s Park, with players under pressure to use their platforms to make a stand against the alleged atrocities.
During the talks, pencilled in for the first camp of 2022 in March, Gareth Southgate’s players will be briefed in detail by external speakers who will be invited to address the squad. Amnesty is in discussions with the FA about being one of the organizations to send speakers.
The finer details of next year’s discussions are still to be finalised, especially given growing concerns about Covid restrictions heading into next year.
Amnesty will be speaking with Gareth Southgate, England’s squad regarding their position on Qatar
Norway held a protest earlier this year against Qatar’s treatment for migrant workers
The FA has a clearly stated intention to deal with the elephant in room, so that England can decide whether it wants to take a public stand against World Cup hosts. Video calls will be made if Covid guidelines prohibit visitors from accessing base camp.
Qatar’s human rights record has come under fire, especially in regard to how they treated staff who were involved with building infrastructure such as the World Cup stadiums.
The Muslim state’s attitudes towards the LGBT community has also been called into question, with homosexuality illegal in Qatar.
Since last year, England football players have taken a knee in protest of racial discrimination
England is yet to demonstrate against Qatar. Southgate stated that they will educate themselves.
Southgate, speaking last month, said: ‘We will take time to educate ourselves. If we feel that there are areas that we can help, then clearly we’ve always tried to do that, and we would do that.’
The concerns of the Dutch, Norwegian, and German teams have been expressed ahead of the tournament.
Similarly, seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has this week spoken out against Saudi Arabia’s human rights record ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix in the Arab nation, a development that is likely to be noted by the FA ahead of March’s talks.