World Cup 2022: Fifa official Arsene Wenger knocks teams making political statements

Wenger said teams who had a good opening game were mentally ready to focus on the competition and ‘not on political demonstration’

Wenger, who is a commentator for Qatari broadcaster beIN Sports, said the World Cup games had been popular around the world ‘despite negative publicity’

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Fifa official Arsene Wenger speaks to the media in Doha, Qatar on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 12:26am, 5 Dec 2022

Fifa official Arsene Wenger took a shot at World Cup teams who tried to make political statements in Qatar, saying on Sunday they lacked focus for their first games.

Wenger said teams who had a good opening game were mentally ready to focus on the competition and “not on political demonstration.” The former Arsenal manager did not specify which teams he was talking about while speaking during an analysis of group games at a Fifa-hosted media event as Chief of Global Football Development.

Denmark and Germany both underperformed in their first games. The Danes drew 0-0 with Tunisia and the Germans lost to Japan 2-1.

Germany players cover their mouths as they pose for a Fifa World Cup team photo. Fifa official Arsene Wenger claims Germany were not fully focused on their match against Japan due to their protest. Photo: dpa

They were among seven European football federations at the World Cup who wanted their captains to wear an armband as part of a Dutch diversity and anti-discrimination campaign to expose the host nation’s poor human rights record.

However, Wenger overlooked the part Fifa played in the dispute by avoiding the issue before teams arrived at the World Cup. Then, seemingly under pressure from Qatari authorities, letting it spill into November 21, hours before England and the Netherlands played and won their first games.

Hours before those games, Fifa forced a climbdown from the European federations by threatening to ensure England captain Harry Kane and Netherlands counterpart Virgil van Dijk would be shown a yellow card. They would have risked getting a second yellow and being sent off and suspended for the next game.

Denmark played on November 22 without protest, one day before Germany’s players lined up for their pregame team photo and covered their mouths to show they felt silenced by World Cup organisers. Both teams later failed to advance to the knockout round.