Germany won't run away from human rights issues at Qatar World Cup

Germany's coach Hansi Flick assured reporters on Thursday that his 26 players would concentrate on football at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

But he did point out that the German delegation would not "duck away" from talking about human rights in the host nation.

Qatar has for years been criticized in this area, most notably for the treatment of migrant workers and the criminalization of same-sex relationships.

Tournament ambassador Khalid Salman, a former Qatar international, this week caused a stir when he said in a documentary that being gay was "damage to the mind."

This was before saying that his statements had been "taken out of context."

Flick did not explicitly name Salman when he spoke out during Thursday's World Cup team nomination.

But he said they "noticed things that have happened on the Qatar side that leave us speechless and aghast."

"It is enormously important that we as the DFB [German Football Federation] concentrate on the sporting side on the one hand, but also have to clearly address what the human rights situation is in Qatar."

"We have to keep our eyes and ears open." "We don't want to duck away; we want to clearly draw attention to the ills."

The main man to address these issues will be DFB president Bernd Neuendorf, who heads the German delegation for the November 20–December 18 tournament.

Germany are to arrive in Qatar on Nov. 17.

Their first game is six days later against Japan, with Spain and Costa Rica as their other opponents in the group stage.