World Cup in Qatar: controversy before the start of the competition

The World Cup in Qatar has already caused a stir, but the debate surrounding the event is clearly not over.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said a few days ago “We must not politicise sport”, regarding the World Cup in Qatar. This sentence was uttered after he announced that he would go to Qatar for the semi-final or the final if the French team was present.

Some object that the French President has already politicised sport in the past, notably by decorating athletes. “This Legion of Honour obliges you”, he assured the French football team, the 2018 world champions, in March 2019. “It obliges you for the Nation, and for the youth of France who will need your commitment.”

Controversy

But if the question of the President’s visit has been raised, it is because the World Cup has already caused a lot of talk, well before it has begun. Between the ethical, social and ecological problems, it has given rise to numerous debates. The media are receiving questions from Internet users about whether they will broadcast information about the competition or follow the boycott that has been set up.

This is the case of the daily newspaper Le Monde, which replied: “Le Monde will cover the World Cup in Qatar, because we believe that our role as a general information media is not to hide information but to report it to our readers, who will make their own choice as to whether or not to read the articles on the sporting event. We will, of course, cover all aspects of the event, be they sporting, geopolitical, social or environmental. (…) The choice of Qatar to host this event, as well as the conditions of this choice, can be legitimately questioned, and Le Monde has not hesitated to do so,” explains Gilles Van Kote, Director of Reader Relations.

In addition, many stars who do not want to be linked to this World Cup have refused to represent themselves. This is the case of artists Rod Stewart, Shakira and Dua Lipa. British singer Rod Stewart has explained that, despite tempting financial offers from the organisers, he does not want to offer his voice to the World Cup this year. He told The Times that “it didn’t feel right”, detailing that the discussions were “fifteen months ago”, but that from the start he knew it “wasn’t the right thing to do”.

The same can be said of singer Dua Lipa, who explained on her Instagram account that she could not in good conscience support an event held in a country such as Qatar. “I look forward to visiting Qatar when they have fulfilled all the promises they made on human rights when they won the right to host the World Cup”.

Hélène Cougot

Passionnée depuis son plus jeune âge par l’art et la mode, Hélène s’oriente vers une école de stylisme, l’Atelier Chardon-Savard à Paris, avec une option Communication. Afin d’ajouter des cordes à son arc, elle décide de compléter sa formation par un MBA en Management du Luxe et Marketing Expérientiel à l’Institut Supérieur de Gestion à Paris dont elle sort diplômée en 2020. Elle a notamment écrit des articles lifestyle et beauté pour le magazine Do it in Paris et se spécialise en rédaction d’articles concernant le luxe, l’art et la mode au sein du magazine Luxus Plus.********** [EN] Passionate about art and fashion from a young age, Hélène went to a fashion design school, Atelier Chardon-Savard in Paris, with a Communication option. In order to add more strings to her bow, she decided to complete her education with an MBA in Luxury Management and Experiential Marketing at the Institut Supérieur de Gestion in Paris from which she graduated in 2020. She has written lifestyle and beauty articles for Do it in Paris magazine and specializes in writing articles about luxury, art and fashion for Luxus Plus magazine.