"Shouldn't happen again - Ex-Germany Captain Philipp Lahm critical of Qatar World Cup over human rights record", 09 Aug 2022

Former Germany captain Philipp Lahm has criticised the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar due to the country’s human rights record, and says he is not planning to attend the tournament.

“I’m not part of the delegation and I’m not keen on flying there as a fan,” he told kicker.

“I prefer to follow the tournament from home. Human rights should play the biggest role in the awarding of a tournament. If a country is awarded the contract that is one of the worst performers in this regard, you start to think about the criteria used to make the decision.

“That shouldn’t happen again in the future. Human rights, sustainability, the size of the country… none of that seems to have played a role.”

Lahm also said he hopes German players will speak openly about Qatar’s human rights record at the World Cup.