Round table on Qatar
At FC Bayern they discussed the red lines
07/04/2022 11:21 p.m.
FC Bayern Munich is economically linked to the Emirate of Qatar, and the Bundesliga club is paying dearly for this partnership. The arrangement with the controversial Desert State continues to cause problems and discussions within the club.
CEO Oliver Kahn has described FC Bayern Munich’s roundtable discussion on the controversial Qatar issue as eye-opening. On Monday night at the Allianz Arena, the former international goalkeeper also thanked club members Michael Ott and Robin Feinauer, who criticized Qatar, and said they had played an “important role” in meeting “in the spirit of respectful interaction”. With the event, Kahn explained, they wanted to show “that you can sit down at a table, regardless of different opinions and attitudes, meet, listen and exchange ideas.”
2022 World Cup chief organizer Hassan Al-Thawadi also took part in the two-hour discussion, in which FC Bayern’s sponsorship in Qatar was also a topic. FC Bayern has a sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways which runs until 2023. However, the commercial relationship with Qatar is a hot topic in the club’s fan scene due to the controversial human rights situation in the host country of the 2022 World Cup and working conditions at World Cup construction sites.
Bayern member Ott had wanted to submit an unsolicited bid at FC Bayern’s turbulent annual general meeting in the fall of 2021 to get the sponsorship vote with the airline. The presidency did not authorize it. Ott went on to strongly criticize the behavior of FCB management.
“Actively promoting Qatar, I think is not the right way,” Ott said, criticizing an alleged “one-sided brand message from Qatar” and citing, among other things, the widely criticized human rights situation. in the country. “If there are no red lines for an advertising partnership with Qatar, where are there still red lines for FC Bayern?” Together with member Feinauer, he presented the Bavarian leadership with a list of questions on the sensitive issue. Qatar has been repeatedly criticized for systematic human rights violations and the exploitation of migrants. The government of the wealthy emirate has denied the allegations and is carrying out reforms in favor of foreign workers.
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