The King of Spain travels to Qatar on Wednesday for a match against Spain’s national football team at the 2022 World Cup and is under fire from left-wing parties, including one of those in the ruling coalition.
Felipe VI is being criticized by leaders of Spain’s left-wing Unidas Podemos party, which brings together the current government coalition led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE).
“It doesn’t disappoint. Wherever there is a dictatorial, bloodthirsty, sexist, homophobic and “petrodollar” Arab theocracy, the Bourbons are quickly leaving,” Paulo Ehenike, a spokesman for the Unidas Podemos group, wrote in parliament. the social network Twitter referring to the honorary king of Spain Juan Carlos de Borbón, who has been living in the United Arab Emirates since 2020 after investigating allegations of corruption, some of which are associated with states and millionaires in the Middle East.
Another Unidas Podemos leader and MP, Gerardo Pisarello, said in a press conference on Monday that Philip VI’s trip to Qatar, a country that does not respect human rights, was “regrettable”.
“This World Cup already has losers,” the MP said, citing the thousands of deaths recorded (and condemned by non-governmental organizations) while building stadiums for this sporting event, as well as the violation of women’s rights and the LGBTI + community (lesbian, gay, transgender , bisexual, intersex, etc.).
According to Pizarello, football fans themselves are also in this category, as they see how “a sport so valued and passionate is being used to make money through civil rights.”
Mireia Vehi, another MP from the leftist Catalan Popular Unity Party (CUP), called the trip of the King, Spain’s head of state, to the World Cup a “shame” and a “disappointment”. criticized the participation of the Spanish national team after thousands of people died in the construction of stadiums.
Spanish government spokeswoman Isabel Rodríguez, a socialist minister, said on Tuesday it was “very right” that the king is going to Qatar to support the choice because it is “the feeling of the vast majority of Spaniards.”
Isabel Rodríguez said that the support of the national team brings the Spaniards together and welcomed Felipe VI’s trip to Qatar for the first game, adding that the government wants “a good championship and results and a victory celebration” for the team.
According to official sources cited by the EFE news agency, the King of Spain must always travel accompanied by a member of the government and will travel to Qatar on Wednesday not with a minister, but with the president of the Supreme Council of Sports.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is expected to travel to Qatar if Spain reaches the final of the World Cup, which ends on December 18, the same sources said.
The visit of political leaders and other dignitaries to Qatar has been criticized, especially in Europe, for lack of respect for human rights in the emirate.
The Secretary General of the United Nations, former Prime Minister of Portugal António Guterres arrived in Qatar on the eve of the start of the competition, and other heads of state and government have already visited or announced their trip to the World Cup.
But there are others who have already announced that they will not go to Qatar, such as the four main European Union (EU) leaders: EU Commission Presidents Ursula von der Leyen of Germany, EU Council member Charles Michel of Belgium, and Maltese MEP Robert Metsola , as well as the head of European diplomacy, Spaniard Josep Borrell.
In Portugal, the President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of Parliament Augusto Santos Silva and Prime Minister António Costa have already announced their intention to accompany the matches of the Portuguese national team.
“Qatar does not respect human rights. All the stadium building and stuff…but let’s forget about it anyway. It’s frustrating, but let’s focus on the team,” Marcelo Rebelo de Souza said last week, drawing criticism and asking three top politicians to boycott the event.
The opening of the World Cup on Sunday was attended by “a number of Their Majesties, Highnesses and Excellencies, heads of state and heads of delegations of fraternal and friendly countries,” Al Jazeera recalled.
In addition to Guterres, the ceremony was attended by the presidents of Rwanda, Algeria, Turkey and Egypt, as well as the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.