– I don’t want to rule out that I will watch the game occasionally. I haven’t decided against it yet, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told Dagsavisen.

The men’s soccer World Cup starts in Qatar on Sunday. The championship was controversial to say the least. The reasons, among other things, are well documented that it was given to Qatar after extensive corruption, because Qatar committed widespread human rights violations, especially against women and homosexuals, and because the foreign workers who built World Cup stadiums had lived in slave-like conditions and many died on the job.

This has led to a widespread boycott movement around the world by football supporters who refuse to watch the World Cup. VG reported on Wednesday that as many as one in five Norwegian TV viewers were boycotting the football championship.

[ AUF-lederen drukner i netthets etter Giske-oppgjør ]

The magic is gone

Therefore, the prime minister of Norway is not among them. But despite being very interested in football, he emphasized that he was also very critical of the World Cup in Qatar.

– I think the circumstances around this, the way Qatar got the championship and its development means the magic that I often feel around the World Cup in football, I don’t have it now. Although I am very interested in football, said Store.

Among the voices calling for a boycott of Qatar’s toilets by Norway are Norwegians Ecological crime. Since it is well documented that Qatar was awarded the championship through corruption, Økokrim chairman Pål Lønseth said that there had to be consequences, and that Norway should boycott WC for crime prevention reasons.

– FIFA should not award the World Cup to Qatar in such a situation. But it has happened. WC is coming. It is a development that authoritarian countries organize these sporting events frequently, and we should talk about it, says Støre.

[ Nesten hver femte nordmann over 18 år vil boikotte VM i Qatar ]

Boycott card

Culture Minister Anette Trettebergstuen had previously stated to Dagbladet that she was not relevant to watching WC, both because Norway had not yet qualified, but also because the WC had “too much of an aftertaste”.

– People can decide for themselves whether they want to watch the World Cup in Qatar or not. But I probably think that most of the people now have a conscious connection with the fact that this World Cup has very problematic aspects related to human rights and their violations ahead of Qatar, said the culture minister of Dagbladet.

The top politician who has made the clear choice against the Qatar World Cup is Venstre leader Guri Melby. He wrote on his Facebook page that he wanted to boycott WC.

– I’m not going to watch WC in Qatar, and I hope as little as possible. Of course, I understand that it can be difficult, and I don’t mean to judge those who choose to watch. I also don’t think I’m a better person by not watching the World Cup, but I think sometimes there are too many good reasons to go on a boycott card. If not used at the Qatar World Cup, when will it be used? Melby wrote.

[ Lokallagsleder:– Det er en forskjell på det å være uenig og ta til motmæle ]

[ Solbakken om VM i Qatar: – For mange har sovet i timen ]

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