The vice-president of the German Football Federation (DFB) and president of the St. Pauli club, Oke Göttlich, sees the time to “seriously consider and debate” a boycott of the World Cup in the United States. The statements were made to the German newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost in the wake of threats by American President Donald Trump against Greenland and threats of new tariffs on European Union countries.
“I really wonder when the time will come to seriously consider and debate this. For me, that time has definitely arrived,” he told the newspaper.
In the last week, of annexing Greenland to American territory for months. On Thursday (22), the president said he had guaranteed “full access” and “permanent presence” in the autonomous Danish territory.
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For Göttlich, confederations should take as an example previous cases of boycott, such as that promoted by the United States itself at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, after the invasion of Afghanistan by the former Soviet Union in 1979. In 1984, it was the USSR’s turn not to participate in the games held in Los Angeles.
“What were the justifications for the boycotts of the Olympic Games in the 1980s? In my opinion, the potential threat today is greater than it was then. We need to have this discussion,” said Göttlich.
Of the 104 games at this year’s World Cup, 78 will be hosted in the United States, while Mexico and Canada share the rest of the matches. The tournament takes place between June and July and, for the first time, will be played by 48 teams.
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Göttlich recalled other recent cases in which politics and football mixed. “Qatar was too political for everyone and now we are completely apolitical? That really bothers me,” he said.
“As organizations and as a society, we are forgetting to set limits and defend values. Taboos are an essential part of this. When are they exceeded?”, asked the vice president. “I would like to know from Donald Trump when he will reach his limit, and I would like to know from [Bernd Neuendorf, presidente da DFB] e [Gianni Infantino, presidente da Fifa].”
