Piers Morgan has slammed the Socceroos and undermined their video calling out World Cup hosts Qatar for flagrant human rights abuses by asking one simple question.
Australia’s soccer team took a united stand against the Middle Eastern nation in a video condemning its human rights record, just over three weeks before the tournament begins.
At least 6,500 workers are believed to have died while building Qatar’s World Cup stadiums and there also deeply-held concerns about how gay fans will be treated during the tournament.
But as the Socceroos’ video started to go viral, Morgan asked if the players really cared so much – why are they taking part in the World Cup at all?
He tweeted: “Fine virtue-signalling words… presume you will now be boycotting the tournament? Or don’t you guys care THAT much?”
The TV star continued: “Either go and play football, or don’t go. Pretending you’re outraged by a country’s morality but then actively promoting the country is hypocritical.
“I find the faux moral outrage around ‘sports-washing’ increasingly irritating. If you want to make a moral stand, fine – do it properly & boycott the event/country that offends your morality. Or shut up and play sport.”
The video, released on behalf of the entire Socceroos squad, shows 16 players reading lines from a collective statement calling for “effective remedy” to Qatar’s human rights abuses.
“Addressing these issues is not easy. And we do not have all the answers,” the Australian players said.
“We stand with FIFPro, the Building and Wood Workers International, and the International Trade Union Confederation, seeking to embed reforms and establish a lasting legacy in Qatar. “This must include establishing a migrant resource centre, effective remedy for those who have been denied their rights, and the decriminalisation of all same-sex relationships.
“These are the basic rights that should be afforded to all and will ensure continued progress in Qatar … [and] a legacy that goes well beyond the final whistle of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.”
The Socceroos acknowledged that in the decade since winning hosting rights, the extremely conservative nation has implemented a number of reforms to improve conditions for migrant workers.
Nevertheless, the Australians said Qatar hosting the World Cup has “resulted in the suffering and the harm of countless of our fellow workers.”
The 16 Australian players involved in the video are: captain Mat Ryan, Bailey Wright, Jamie Maclaren, Nick D’Agostino, Jackson Irvine, Craig Goodwin, Danny Vukovic, Andrew Redmayne, Mathew Leckie, Mitchell Duke, Mitch Langerak, Denis Genreau, Cameron Devlin, Adam Taggart, Kye Rowles and Alex Wilkinson.
Football Australia subsequently released a separate statement which declares: “The tournament has been associated with suffering for some migrant workers and their families and this cannot be ignored.”
Denmark’s football team has also taken a stand against Qatar by fading all the details on their kit.
“We’ve toned down all the details – including our own Hummel logo and chevrons – because even though we love football and the feeling of togetherness it gives us, we don’t wish to be visible during a tournament that has cost thousands of people their lives,” kit sponsors Hummel said. They also released a black alternative kit as it is the “colour of mourning”.
The captains of nine European teams – including England – will wear an anti-discrimination OneLove armband, even if it is banned by FIFA.
Qatar was controversially awarded the rights to host the biggest sporting event on the planet in 2010 despite a lack of facilities and the prospect of playing the tournament in hot desert conditions.
Qatar has since completed a A$470bn construction extravaganza — at the cost of an estimated 6500 construction workers’ lives.
The Guardian reports workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have continued to die in recent years during the construction works, despite widespread outcry.
Human Rights Watch has repeatedly called for new laws to protect construction staff from working in life-threatening conditions, with more than 800,000 migrant workers being subjected to working in the scorching conditions.
The devastating death toll is completely off the scale, according to the International Trades Union Confederation (ITUC).
To put the tragedy into perspective, the ITUC has previously revealed the amount of workers killed in the lead up to other major sporting events around the world.
The next highest number of deaths were from the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics with 60 people killed and the 2004 Athens Olympics with 40 killed.
Ten workers died before the 2010 Beijing Olympics and seven were killed while working in construction for the 2014 Brazil World Cup.
There were zero construction fatalities for the 2012 London Olympics and one death for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.