Harry Kane has urged stars from other nations to take a consistent stance at the Qatar World Cup
England captain Harry Kane says he has spoken with his current and former Tottenham team-mates Hugo Lloris and Christian Eriksen about their respective countries adopting a uniform objection to the alleged human rights violations taking place in Qatar.
The trio will star in this year’s World Cup starting in late November, although the Gulf’s destination for the world’s most prestigious international football tournament has been hailed by a number of critics over reports of abuses by migrant workers who helped build stadium infrastructure in Qatar – and for the country’s treatment of women and homosexuals.
Homosexuality is still illegal in Qatar, with a recent report of a Scandinavian publication describing that same-sex couples were denied bookings at some hotels listed on FIFA’s approved accommodation list.
Human rights lawyer Amnesty International has also detailed its conviction that thousands of migrant workers were exploited by the Qatari authorities among allegations that thousands of has died during various infrastructure construction.
However, these reports have been rejected by Qatar authorities, who say they have initiated progressive labor rights, such as a minimum wage and the abolition of exit permits – where an employer had to say about a worker’s ability to leave the country.
Kane said earlier this year that he had held talks with his English squad to decide what action – if any – they would take, and has now also revealed talks with close friends Lloris from France and Denmark’s Eriksen.
“Christian Eriksen contacted me a couple of weeks ago now,“ Kane said on Monday ahead of England’s Nations League match with Hungary.
“Obviously there is Hugo Lloris, with whom I have a lot of contact anyway. So the discussion was there to maybe do something as a collective.
“When we come to a decision about something we want to do, we will definitely share it.
“I think it will be important to do it collectively. I feel it will be a little more of a stance, a little more power.”
It remains to be seen exactly what Kane has planned, but football has seen a stream of social protests in recent times – such as the extended “Black Lives Matter” ritual before the game to kneel and, more recently, various acts of solidarity on behalf of Ukraine since the start of the Russian military campaign.