Arsene Wenger has added his voice to the growing concern about conditions for migrant workers in Qatar, the host nation of the 2022 World Cup.
The Arsenal manager has urged Fifa to put enough pressure on the Qatari government to address the kafala system, which ties workers to their sponsors and has been heavily criticised from a human rights perspective.
“Fifa has made an investigation and hopefully will sort that out,” said Wenger. “It is down to Fifa to make those rules changed.”
Wenger was mindful that the living and working conditions, and the problems with exit visas which are controlled by the companies that sponsor immigrant workers, has been discussed at the highest levels lately. The European Parliament, who passed an emergency resolution condemning the practice, and an Amnesty International report which highlighted the issues, have increased pressure in the past week.
He has also been in touch with the family of Zahir Belounis, the French footballer who has been trapped in Qatar while his dispute over unpaid wages has been unresolved. “I have been contacted by somebody from the family who asked for help,” said Wenger. “But what I’ve heard in France is that the French government is involved and they are in a much stronger position than anybody else to help out. I am just surprised he cannot get out of the country and I don’t know why really.”
Belounis wrote an open letter to Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola in search of support for a system he described as “slowly killing me”. He has been suffering depression as he and his young family have been unable to leave the Gulf state, with no exit visa forthcoming while he contests his case for unpaid earnings.
The Belounis camp has heard positive signs that an end could be in sight to his predicament. They are hopeful for news within the next few days.
Walcott return
Wenger, meanwhile, is confident that the return of Theo Walcott against Southampton today, and the expected full rehabilitation of Lukas Podolski from a torn hamstring in December, will reduce the demand to sign a striker in the January transfer window. The Arsenal manager reckons his team can win the title even if attacking reinforcements are not forthcoming in January.
"Theo gives us qualities that other players haven't got," said Wenger. "It's a different option. It gives us options to score, to go behind to create space in the middle. We have missed that, maybe, but we have not done too badly. Podolski also shouldn't be too far now."
Another forward
Wenger did not rule out an attempt to bring in another forward, but he did acknowledge it is a troublesome time to strike deals for the right players to fit into a title-challenging jigsaw. He expressed regret that in the past he has found it difficult to strengthen in mid-season and his team suffered the consequences over the second half of the campaign.
“Look I am not against it,” he explained. “I don’t say I never make a mistake – I certainly made some. It is always difficult in the middle of the season. If somebody is doing well somewhere the clubs do not necessarily want to sell him. They can wait until the end of the season. Most of the time it is because we didn’t find the right player.”
Wenger is aware that cover for Olivier Giroud remains a delicate situation, as he is not convinced that Nicklas Bendtner has the right mentality even if his size makes him the closest like-for-like replacement for his first-choice centre forward.
Enough games
"If we lose Giroud today we have nobody with body weight up front apart from Bendtner. I think he has the level but at the moment he doesn't get enough games. And as well, in his head, is he here? Has he planned to go?" pondered Wenger.
He was very dismissive about a possible bid for Karim Benzema, the France forward who competes with Giroud for the national team. Asked if they might also battle each other at club level, Wenger said: "I don't think that's a good idea."
Guardian Service
