Manchester United rounded off the autumn with a 2–1 victory against Fulham. Bruno Fernandes and Christian Eriksen, two of the team’s World Cup-selected players, will now travel to Qatar for the World Cup.
It is with mixed feelings and in an interview after the match, Fernandes criticizes, among other things, the timing of the World Cup and the treatment of migrant workers in Qatar. Their poor working conditions during the World Cup construction have been highlighted by, among others, human rights organizations, trade unions and World Cup nations.
“Not happy”
— It’s not exactly the time when you want to play a World Cup. We know the circumstances surrounding the World Cup, what has happened in the last few weeks, the last few months, about the people who have died in connection with the construction of the arena. We are not happy about it, says Fernandes to Sky Sports.
He continues:
— We want football to be for everyone, everyone to be a part of it and a part of the World Cup because it is for the whole world. It’s for everyone and it doesn’t matter who you are. But a WC is more than football. It’s a party for supporters, for players and something that should be a joy to watch. It should have been handled in a better way.
Eriksen agrees
Danish Christian Eriksen agrees with his Portuguese teammate. He says that the players do what they can to shed light on different things, but that change must come from a higher place.
— I completely agree with Bruno. There is a lot of focus on that, on how this World Cup has come about and why it is in Qatar. Everyone agrees that it has not been done in the right way, says Eriksen.