Wenger controversial in World Cup 2022
"Other teams with experience and high achievements such as France, England, and Brazil all played well in the first game. They also benefited from focusing on competition, instead of getting entangled in political factors. In the World Cup, they must know the right thing to do. won the opening match," argued Wenger.
Wenger currently holds the position of Director of Global Football Development at FIFA. He expressed this view at a meeting between FIFA's Technical Research Subcommittee and the media on December 4.
According to CNN, Wenger was referring to the German team, by covering their mouth with their hands before their opening match against Japan in Group E on November 23. This action is to show protest when FIFA threatened to discipline the player wearing the "OneLove" band to promote the movement for gender equality.
In this regard, Qatar - the host of the 2022 World Cup - has a negative reputation. Despite claiming to support legal movements like "OneLove", FIFA still requires captains to wear the band provided by the federation.
Initially, seven European teams, including Germany, intended to wear "OneLove" to the field, but all had to drop after FIFA announced a yellow card for those wearing this type of bandage.
In the group stage, Germany lost 1-2 to Japan, drew Spain 1-1, beat Costa Rica 4-2 and was eliminated early.
Wenger's comments made many social media users angry, including former Australian midfielder Craig Foster. "Wenger's opinion is shameful. Human rights are not politics, Arsene. And values should not be sold cheaply," he wrote on Twitter. Foster is currently a human rights activist.
Australia's performance is another example of Wenger's one-sided conclusion. Before entering the World Cup, this team publicly criticized Qatar on human rights and when they were in battle, they only stopped when they lost 1-2 to Argentina in the 1/8 round on December 4.
Qatar bans same-sex sex with men, and violators face up to three years in prison. The country has also been criticized for its hardline stance against LGBTQ (gay, bisexual, transgender and unidentified) gender. However, Qatar recently reaffirmed to CNN that "Everyone is welcome in the 2022 World Cup".
