Augsburg (dpa / lby) - FC Augsburg fans have sharply criticized their club for the announced test match against the Qatari club Al-Duhail SC. "A club that is so contrary to the values of our FCA is not a suitable opponent to test each other in friendship," said a statement from the fan alliance Ulrich-Biesinger-Tribüne e.V. The FCA supporters threw the football -Bundesliga "indifference" in the selection of the opponent. The "Augsburger Allgemeine" reported first.
The Fuggerstadt team are planning a friendly against the club from the Qatari capital Doha on July 17th. The president of the club is the brother of the head of state. "A member of the family that defines the applicable values and laws in the emirate. Values that trample on diversity, tolerance and freedom of expression," said the fans. In her opinion, the goal of the president is the same as that which the emirate is pursuing with the controversial soccer World Cup at the end of the year: "to polish up Qatar's image by entering international soccer, so-called "sportswashing"".
Qatar has been repeatedly criticized for systematic human rights violations and the exploitation of migrants. The government of the wealthy emirate has denied the allegations and is leading reforms in favor of foreign workers. "We are aware of the sensitivity of this topic and will deal with it even more sensitively in the future," said an FCA club spokesman for the "Augsburger Allgemeine".
Fuggerstadt supporters are critical of the test match, especially against the background of "Diversity Day", which FCA is organizing on July 23rd. "We expect consistency in living out the propagated FCA values instead of whitewashing and image cultivation," it said.
