FIFA President, Gianni Infantino has come under criticism for defending Qatar's human rights record in relation to the treatment of migrant workers and the rights of LGBTQ+ people during a press conference on the eve of the World Cup opening match.
He stated that Europe should apologise for its own record and moral failings before criticising Qatar.
Infantino was also criticised for declaring "today I feel gay" and "today I feel (like) a migrant worker", using his own experiences with discrimination to try and show solidarity with marginalised groups.
FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, launched an hour-long speech on the eve of the World Cup in which he defended Qatar's human rights record and criticised European countries, stating that they should apologise for their own histories before criticising Qatar.
Infantino also declared that he "feels gay" and "like a migrant worker" which caused a backlash on social media.
Infantino, who defended Qatar's treatment of migrant workers, announced "a dedicated International Labour Organisation Office in Doha…where migrant workers can go, unions can be integrated and seek assistance.
" Bryan Swanson, FIFA media chief who is gay, defended Infantino's record on LGBTQ rights and told reporters that "everybody is welcome" at the World Cup.
The Independent and The Guardian focused on Infantino's comments regarding Europe's own shortcomings on social issues and their current immigration policies in defence of Qatar's progress.
The Times of Israel and Reuters focused on Infantino's comments criticising the hypocrisy of European critics of Qatar's treatment of migrant workers, while The Mirror focused on Infantino's challenge to "hypocritical" countries across Europe to support migrant workers after the tournament ends next month.
The AP News highlighted Infantino's one-hour tirade on a wide range of topics but did not focus on any particular aspect of his speech.
Overall, there was some criticism of Infantino's comments on Qatar's human rights record and the LGBTQ+ community, while others focused on his defence of the progress that Qatar has made in recent years.