15 December 2022
To Speak, or not to Speak
Several national football federations and their teams had planned to wear a rainbow armband (also called the “One-Love” armband) when entering the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which symbolizes solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. Promptly, this simple gesture in favor of respect of human rights and diversity was forbidden by FIFA. The days following the ban, players and teams expressed their unease about FIFA’s strict position and about the uncertainty of the potential sanctions. FIFA’s practice towards freedom of expression lacks consistency, which further highlights the protection gap that exists between the lex sportiva, the rules and regulations governing sports, and human rights law in respect of freedom of expression. How could the differences be reconciled? Continue reading >>
1 
02 December 2022
The Autonomy of Sport and the Degeneration of an Ideal
The Football World Cup in Qatar is but the tip of the iceberg of the mounting problems for UEFA/FIFA. Scandals. Corruption. Cozying up to the autocrats and feeling right at home in their company. Arrogance bordering on ignorance coming from the very top of the governing bodies. The list of serious ailments that beset the system of football governance goes on. As a result, one might argue that not much of substance can be added to the topic. Yet, as will be argued here, there is still a constitutional and discursive potential to push forward the discourse on the broken system of football governance. There is important space for constitutionalists to fill by offering a voice of critical reflection, insights and by pointing out signposts for the future. Continue reading >>
0
25 November 2022
Migrant Workers and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar
When we are enjoying the beautiful game these days, we should not forget that hundreds or even thousands of migrant workers, mostly from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka have allegedly lost their lives in Qatar when working on stadium and other infrastructure constructions in view of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. FIFA as the overarching, but private international football governing body in charge of the organization of the World Cup is not, as such, liable under the ECHR neither. It has, however, its headquarters in Switzerland. Is this enough to hold Switzerland, a party to the ECHR, liable for human rights violations in Strasbourg? Continue reading >>05 July 2019
Shared International Responsibility for Human Rights Violations: The 2022 World Cup in Qatar
Since Qatar won the hosting rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in 2010, recurrent human rights violations of migrants working on building or refurbishing new infrastructure for the tournament have been denounced. As football’s governing body, FIFA should have been aware of the risk that the organisation of the 2022 World Cup could entail human rights violations in the country. In this blog, I investigate how a migrant worker could engage the legal responsibility of the different actors involved in the organisation of the FIFA World Cup 2022. Continue reading >>
0