‘Things are very disappointing’: Eric Dier raises doubts about Qatar’s migrant workers crisis

Eric Dier has vowed to find out more about the political circumstances that stand in the way of the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.

Efforts to build state-of-the-art stadiums in Qatar ahead of global competition have led human rights campaign groups to criticize the country’s government for mistreating migrant workers involved in World Cup preparations.

Workers have been killed working on stadium developments in the Middle East, with the actual death toll expected to far exceed the three cited by the Qatari government and FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Ahead of England’s opening World Cup group B match against Iran on Monday, Dier admitted players were being put in a ‘difficult’ situation with the media as questions over FIFA’s decision to host the tournament in Qatar and the the nations’ political policies continue to dominate the press. conferences.

The Spurs central defender said:

“It’s very difficult for players,” said the England centre-back. “We come here and know that these topics will come up. I was watching today because I thought I was probably going to get questions like this.

The World Cup was awarded to Qatar in 2010. I was 16 at the time. We have absolutely no say in where we play. Those decisions are made by people way above us and we are the ones who ultimately answer these kinds of questions.

‘It’s disappointing. I carry the values ​​that I inherited from my family. At the same time, I respect wherever I go.

“We’ve only been here a very short time, so for me it’s important to live this experience and have a much better idea of ​​what to say about it. A lot of things have already happened – a lot of things are very disappointing.

“They will always be in my mind. But as a team we carry certain values ​​and wherever we go, we will carry those values. At the same time, we respect wherever we go.’

The 28-year-old England international further revealed that he sees himself continuing in football once he decides to hang up his boots, but has cooled down any discussion of a role at FIFA.

“I’m 28,” he said. “I still have a long time to play. I am very interested. I have this conversation a lot with friends in football about the future. I am definitely interested in staying in football,” Dier said.

‘It is my passion. I’m not really into politics. I don’t know if I have the right thing for it. It is very important that football is in the right hands and cared for in the right way, because it means so much to so many people.”