Gareth Southgate says he is unsure what boycotting the Qatar World Cup would achieve, suggesting that England playing in the tournament would be more impactful at highlighting the Gulf State’s human rights record.
Southgate led a meeting with his squad and staff on Tuesday in which they were briefed on myriad human rights issues in the Gulf State, which has been accused of exploiting migrant workers and discriminating against women and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The squad is currently considering a protest ahead of next winter’s tournament, possibly in conjunction with other leading national teams.
But Southgate says the time has already passed for a full boycott of the finals and says is not a decision himself or the players could make anyway.
“I don’t really know what [a boycott] achieves,” he said. “It would of course be a big story but this tournament would go ahead.
“The fact is, unfortunately, the biggest issue that is probably non-religious or non-cultural is what happened with the building of the stadiums.
“There’s nothing we can do about that either sadly. I think as soon as we’ve entered the tournament that’s the point we decide. We’ve known for four years or eight years that this is going to be in Qatar.
“[A boycott] is possible but that’s not a decision the players and myself can make,” he added. “I know I hear various versions of this but my understanding is the discussions the FA has had with organisations like Amnesty International is that they feel there would be more change if we go and these things are highlighted. That’s also guiding some of the thinking on that.”
Southgate also suggested that refusing to play in Qatar would be hypocritical given the level of investment from the Gulf State in the UK economy.
“We’re intertwined, as we’ve seen with Russia, with all sorts of investment in our country,” he said.
“Are we all going to stop shopping at Sainsbury’s as a protest against Qatar? The Shard...there’s all sorts of property investment. We’re in such a complex world of deals.
“I know the issues themselves aren’t complicated but all of the repercussions, the diplomatic relations, dealing with other countries and other organisations are extremely complicated, I think.”
Southgate says his squad will take their time in deciding how to use their platforms to highlight the issues, and insists they are ready to face criticism for taking a stand.
“There’s an opportunity to use the voices, and use the platform in a positive way, without a doubt,” he said.
“There’s a long period in order to do that, so I don’t think we should rush into that, I don’t think the players feel they could rush something out, and not quite come to the right conclusion or the right idea. I repeat: whatever we do, we’re going to be criticised, so we’re going to try to do our best.
“We’ve got to use our voice in the right way at the right time. But of course there are lots of other issues as well that we’re all dealing with.”
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, a senior England player, added: “It’s very early [in our] discussions, but as a senior member of the squad I do take a lot of responsibility, and I’ll try my best to speak with other players, with other senior members of the team, and come up with something we think is right.
“I think the gaffer is right, whatever we decide to do as a team will be criticised and will be never enough. But that’s not why we’re doing it, we’re doing it to try to make a difference in the world, for a positive change. And what we think is right as a team. Everybody knows we stand for no discrimination, football is for everyone, and we’ll always stand by that, and we’ll push that, in whichever way we decide going forward.”
