World Cup 2022: Hugo Lloris says there is too much pressure on players to speak out against Qatar
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Published 14/11/2022 at 19:07 GMT
The 2022 World Cup is just a week away and as teams jet off to the tournament there will be attention on whether players will speak about Qatar's human rights record and stance on women’s and LGBTQ+ rights. France will be defending champions and their goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris, says players are at the "bottom of the chain" and talking should be done by politicians.
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France captain Hugo Lloris believes there is “too much pressure” on players to speak out against World Cup hosts Qatar.
Qatar’s human rights record has been under scrutiny ahead of the tournament, which starts on November 20.
Thousands of migrant workers are reported to have died since Qatar was awarded the World Cup in 2010, while there have also been concerns raised about the nation’s stance on women’s and LGBTQ+ rights.
FIFA has written to all 32 teams at the tournament asking them to focus on sport and not politics.
That is a sentiment that Lloris says he agrees with.
“There’s too much pressure on the players. We are at the bottom of the chain,” said the Tottenham goalkeeper.
“If you have to apply pressure, first of all it had to be 10 years ago. Now it’s too late. You have to understand that for players this opportunity happens every four years and you want every chance to succeed. The focus has to be on the field. The rest is for politicians. We are athletes.”
Several nations have expressed their feelings about playing in Qatar.
The United States have shown their solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community by redesigning their logos and badges at their Doha training ground with rainbow colours.
France will be the defending champions at the World Cup after victory in Russia in 2018.
They face Australia, Tunisia and Denmark in Group D.
"To be the defending champions is not an easy task," added Lloris.
"If you look at the last three previous champions they struggled a lot and didn't go through the group stage.
"This is the first target. We have to play at our best and then we know it's going to be a different competition from the last 16 onwards. In one game, anything is possible."
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