「Ｗ杯停戦を」 ＦＩＦＡ会長、Ｇ２０で呼び掛け

【ヌサドゥサＡＦＰ＝時事】国際サッカー連盟（ＦＩＦＡ）のジャンニ・インファンティーノ会長は１５日、間もなく開幕するＷ杯カタール大会に合わせて、ウクライナで１か月間停戦するよう呼び掛けた。（写真はニュージーランド・オークランドで演説する、国際サッカー連盟（ＦＩＦＡ）のジャンニ・インファンティーノ会長）
　インファンティーノ氏はインドネシア・バリで開催されている２０か国・地域首脳会議（Ｇ２０サミット）の昼食会で、２０日から始まるＷ杯の期間中、「１か月の停戦を検討するよう皆に要請する」と述べた。
　同氏は「サッカーが世界の問題を解決できるという甘い考えは持っていない」としながらも、全人類の半数以上に当たる約５０億人による視聴が見込まれるＷ杯は「唯一無二のプラットフォーム」であり、「この機会を生かし、全ての紛争に終止符を打つきっかけをつくるため、できる限りの努力をすべきだ」と訴えた。
　ウクライナ侵攻開始後、複数の国がロシアとの対戦を拒否。これを受けてＦＩＦＡは、ロシアに出場停止処分を科し、Ｗ杯予選からも排除した。
　中東初の開催となるＷ杯カタール大会は、既にさまざまな面で物議を醸している。人権侵害や反体制派の抑圧、外国人労働者の不当な扱い、ＬＧＢＴＱ（性的少数者）の迫害など、多くの問題が取り沙汰されている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/11/16-13:52）

The president of the world football body called Tuesday for a one-month ceasefire in Ukraine to mark the World Cup, saying sport could bring people together.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, addressing leaders of the Group of 20 major economies gathered in Bali, said the World Cup opening Sunday in Qatar could serve as a positive trigger in the nearly nine-month Russian invasion of Ukraine.
My plea to all of you is to think of a temporary ceasefire for one month for the duration of the World Cup, he told a G20 lunch for the leaders.
If not a full ceasefire, there can be the implementation of some humanitarian corridors or anything that could lead to the resumption of dialogue, he said.
Describing football as a unifier, he pointed out that Russia had hosted the 2018 World Cup and that Ukraine is submitting a joint bid with Spain and Portugal for 2030.
We are not naive to believe that football can solve the world's problems, Infantino said.
But the World Cup offered a unique platform, he said, as an estimated five billion people -- more than half of humanity -- are expected to watch on television.
Let's take this opportunity to do everything we can to start putting an end to all conflicts, he said.
The G20 talks included President Joe Biden and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov although it was not immediately clear if they were listening to Infantino, who later asked leaders to sign a souvenir football.
FIFA suspended Russia days after President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, booting the Russians from World Cup qualifying matches after several countries refused to play them.
The 2022 World Cup, the first to take place in the Middle East, has already been full of controversy, including over Qatar's alleged human rights abuses, suppression of dissent, mistreatment of foreign workers and persecution of LGBTQ people.
Human rights groups including Amnesty International last week appealed to Infantino to set up a FIFA remediation programme to compensate labourers.
Infantino defended the track record of the World Cup, saying that hundreds of thousands of workers enjoy better conditions than some years ago.
Qatar has accused its critics of racism and said that it was already handing out hundreds of millions of dollars for unpaid wages.
As part of reforms, the gas-rich kingdom has ended its much-criticised system in which labourers could not change jobs or leave the country without permission from their employer.