Anger at the "double pass": "Ambassador" Hoeneß rages against Qatar critics

Uli Hoeneß has done it again: the eternal patron of FC Bayern can be switched to a live broadcast and rages.

Anger at the "double pass": "Ambassador" Hoeneß rages against Qatar critics

Uli Hoeneß has done it again: the eternal patron of FC Bayern can be switched to a live broadcast and rages. This time it gets Andreas Rettig, who argues against the World Cup in Qatar. Hoeneß doesn't like that at all.

Bayern Munich's honorary president Uli Hoeneß has railed against former DFL managing director Andreas Rettig and at the same time vehemently defended World Cup hosts Qatar. During the discussion about the controversial human rights situation in the emirate, Hoeneß spontaneously let himself be put through by phone on Sport1 and called Rettig the "king of hypocrites".

He wanted to ask Rettig, who had previously called for the World Cup to become "the biggest PR disaster", "whether he doesn't shower so warmly in winter, whether he uses the gas that we're about to get from Qatar whether he has ever thought about it," said Hoeneß at the beginning of his monologue, which lasted several minutes. "And one thing is already certain: the World Cup and the commitment of FC Bayern and other sporting activities in the Gulf region will mean that the working conditions for the workers there will be better and not worse. You should finally accept that and not constantly worry about it Hit people," said Hoeneß, audibly excited. He accused Rettig of "eternal teasing".

Rettig had previously spoken about FC Bayern, which – as has been the case for years – will fly to the training camp in Qatar: “If a DAX company in which Qatar is involved decides which shareholder to take on, the shareholders decide. If the FC Bayern club, which belongs to the members, says they don't want that, this will is to be accepted. That's a serious difference. That's why I didn't understand FC Bayern's argument in the discussion. With this policy, the eyes to close, we are where we are."

FC Bayern has a sponsorship contract with the state airline Qatar Airways that runs until 2023. The business relationship with Qatar is a hot topic in the fan scene and among many members of the club because of the controversial human rights situation. The lack of will to deal with the issue had ended the club's turbulent annual general meeting in chaos and tumult last year. At the end of an extremely unpleasant evening for FC Bayern, even the club's saint, Uli Hoeneß, was no longer heard.

Hoeneß continued in the direction of Rettig: "If we don't buy anything anywhere in the near future and don't work with countries where human rights aren't handled the way we are, then we can close our shop incredibly catastrophic reasoning like you, thank you."

Hoeneß has been associated with the ruling family in Qatar for years, Rettig replied. "I'm not surprised that you are arguing like that, Mr. Hoeneß, as Qatar's ambassador," he said. Qatar's sport washing, to improve its image by investing in sport, has had an effect. "I would recommend that you expand the sources that you tap on a little bit more soon," he told Hoeneß.

In a report presented at the beginning of July, the human rights organization Amnesty International stated that the Qatari government had in the past brought about far-reaching reforms in the area of ​​labor legislation, but in 2021 there was a "slacking off in reform progress".

According to a statement by Amnesty International ahead of a public hearing by the Bundestag Sports Committee on the World Cup, "progress that had already been achieved was reversed in part due to the inaction of the Qatari government." "There is growing resistance to the reforms within the Qatari economy for fear of losing influence and profit opportunities," it said.

Most recently, Abdulla Mohammed al Thani, Qatar's ambassador to Germany, said at a congress of the German Football Association on the human rights situation in his homeland: The situation is "not yet perfect", the change takes time. "It's not at 100 percent, it's a journey." The World Cup is also an issue on the Chancellor's trip to the Arabian Peninsula at the weekend. "We acknowledge that there is also progress on issues that had to be fought for a long time, such as the situation of employees. Even if that does not correspond to the ideas we have ourselves," said Olaf Scholz on Sunday in Qatar's capital, Doha.

"When you work on these construction sites, even drinking water is a problem. In the summer it's incredibly hot, sometimes over 50 degrees, sometimes up to 75 percent humidity," said Jeevan KC, a member of the migrant workers' network in Qatar and supervisor there on construction sites, most recently at an event in Frankfurt. "Actually, there is a law that says you can't work outside at lunchtime, but that's just not being implemented. The number of safety inspectors is very low, they come very rarely."

According to Amnesty International, violations of labor law generally go unpunished and have no consequences. According to Amnesty International, in a study of working conditions in the private security industry, working conditions in six out of eight companies examined correspond to forced labour. Also, in 2021, up to 70 percent of all migrant worker deaths were not adequately investigated.

(This article was first published on Sunday, September 25, 2022.)