‘It wasn’t our decision’ – England stars fail to speak out on Qatar human rights as Kane again skirts World Cup issue

GARETH SOUTHGATE spent over half an hour speaking to England’s squad about the controversy surrounding the World Cup in Qatar.

At their first team meeting of 2022 at St George’s Park, the players were briefed about the country’s disgraceful human-rights issues.

From workers’ rights to the discriminatory policies towards the LGBT community.

But still we wait for a proper message from the England players.

Harry Kane touched on the subject on Wednesday, speaking ahead of the Three Lions’ first game of this World Cup year against Switzerland on Saturday.

Yet there was not much substance in the captain’s words, however well intentioned.

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Germany’s players have worn T-shirts expressing their concerns over human rights in Qatar. So have Norway and Holland.

Kane wants to speak to other international captains, namely Spurs team-mates Hugo Lloris of France and South Korea’s Son Heung-min over the situation.

And whether or not they can hatch some sort of plan, he could have easily had that conversation in the four months since England’s qualification.

But will the England players actually do anything? Do not hold your breath.

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Kane said: “It’s not something that we’ve had deep discussions about. Obviously, we had the meeting last night. That was the first time we spoke about it.

“I think over this camp and the next camp, we’ll talk about what we can do.

“There’s a couple of other national captains in my team at Tottenham. Maybe we will now see if we can be unified.

“So, yes, that’s something that obviously myself and some of the senior players in the team will look to try and achieve over the coming months.”

Kane was pressed on whether it is right that the World Cup is being staged in the tiny nation in the Middle East. He said: “It wasn’t our decision, it was the decision of Fifa.

“As players, all we can do is look forward to an amazing tournament and hope that everything else around it, the issues around it, can be resolved as well as possible.

“We are not expecting everything to change overnight, these things take time.

“It’s a different culture, it’s a different religion, so to answer just yes or no is difficult. We just have to do what we can.

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“A World Cup is, professionally, one of the greatest tournaments that I have ever played in.

“There is definitely that excitement of being there and experiencing that again.

“Of course, there are some issues that you can’t hide away from.

“There are some conflicting emotions around it. But I guess for me, and for our team, it’s about controlling what we can control.

“And that’s to make sure we do what we can and use our platforms to help in any way we can.

“As captain, along with the other senior players in the team, we will have to learn to cope with it and balance the two.”

Southgate spoke to the squad about Qatar, with Kane, along with a few others, raising various issues.

Kane said: “We wanted to qualify for the World Cup before doing that and we’ve done that, so it was our first chance to have that chat.

“Gareth led that meeting and we spoke about what to expect, and obviously some of the important issues that are surrounding the World Cup.

“I think for us now, as players, it’s important to talk amongst ourselves, not just in this camp but the camps going forward as well in June.

“I feel like, as a group, we’ve never shied away from important issues and we’ve always had our opinions, and we’ve always tried to show unity in anything we’ve done.”

It is an utter disgrace that the World Cup is being staged in Qatar but any hopes of teams boycotting the competition was always pie in the sky.

And even if things appear to improve during the World Cup in November and December, they will return to normal afterwards.

It is similar to the previous tournament in Russia in 2018 as the country put on its best face until members of feminist punk rock group Pussy Riot held up the final with a pitch protest against Vladimir Putin.

I feel like, as a group, we’ve never shied away from important issues

Harry Kane

Elsewhere, Kane was asked about his Spurs future and ducked the issue.

He said: “My main purpose is to finish this season, first and foremost.

“We are still in a race for the top four and that is where my focus lies. I cannot control what will happen in the future. It’s a big year for everyone.

“Not just me. I want to be going into that tournament in the best form and it is about controlling what I can control — and that is doing what I have been doing the last few months.

“It is important over the summer to stay focused and I look forward to a fantastic tournament.”

Asked whether Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has asked him to stay, he said: “Look, I am not going to get into discussions, personal discussions with the manager.”

So, given the chance, it looks as though Kane will probably be off.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk