"Everyone must have the freedom to express the feelings they have as long as they do not harm others" - Rafael Nadal on FIFA ban on political displays at 2022 World Cup
Rafael Nadal has said there needs to be freedom of expression as long as they 'do not harm others' following FIFA's ban on political displays during the ongoing 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
A conservative Muslim country, Qatar has made news for their poor human rights record, including the death of several migrant workers during the construction of stadiums. Moreover, Qatari laws forbid homosexuality, which is a punishable offence in the country, raising concerns about the safety of LGBT visitors to the country for the World Cup.
In light of the same, Nadal said that in a global world, everyone should be free to express themselves without harming others. The 22-time Grand Slam winner said as quoted by Marca:
"We are in a global world in which people must have more and more rights. Everyone must have the freedom to express the feelings they have, as long as they do not harm others."
While saying that sport provides a platform for expression, he said that the focus should be on football, but those in disagreement should be free to express themselves.
"Sport is a place to express oneself, because it has a global exposure at the media level, but, beyond all that, for me the important thing is to end up playing football," he said.
"The decisions that FIFA makes or does not make may seem better or worse to me, but in the end they are rules and attitudes that they want to take at their event . The rest must be free to express themselves and show their disagreement, as is already happening," he added.
Meanwhile, Qatar government officials have assured the safety of all visitors, irrespective of their sexual orientation, as reported by the BBC.
"Spain started the World Cup in the best possible way" - Rafael Nadal
In Rafael Nadal's absence, Spain crashed out of the Davis Cup, losing to Croatia in the quarterfinals in Malaga on Wednesday. However, La Furia Roja have made a rousing start to their 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign in Qatar.
Luis Enrique's men thumped hapless Costa Rica 7-0 to register their biggest win in World Cup history. That puts Spain in pole position to win the group, with Germany slumping to a shock 2-1 defeat to Japan ahead of their meeting with Spain this weekend.
Understandably delighted with the big win, Nadal said:
"Spain started the World Cup in the best possible way; it's only the first game, although it's always exciting to start like this."
Spain and Germany will lock horns at the Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday.