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DBU stepping up pressure on Qatar following critical report on WC stadia

Christian Wenande
April 1st, 2016


This article is more than 8 years old.

Danish football association calling for new FIFA boss to take action

DBU expects the new FIFA boss will come through with his election promise (photo: DBU)

The Danish football association, the DBU, has vowed to apply further pressure on Qatar following a report by Amnesty International that criticises the conditions faced by workers building the new football stadium for the 2022 World Cup in the Middle Eastern nation.

In light of the report, ‘The Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game’, DBU head Jesper Møller has called for new FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to ensure that the nation takes steps to improve the dire conditions that stadium builders endure in Qatar.

“We take the report’s conclusions very seriously,” said Møller. “The conditions are unacceptable. DBU has already agreed with Amnesty International and decided to take an inspection trip to Qatar in November.”

“But we can’t do it alone and we need to co-operate with other organisations and sports associations in Denmark and abroad.”

Infantino up next
The inspection trip will meet representatives of various NGOs in the nation, and DBU is also in dialogue with Qatar’s national football association.

The DBU, which supported Infantino’s FIFA candidacy recently, said that his clear views on the Qatar issue was one of the reasons why he enjoyed Danish backing.

“We expect that he brings up the issue at the next FIFA Congress next month so we can apply pressure on the authorities down there together.”

Young guns qualify
In related news, Denmark’s under-17 team has qualified for the European Championships in Azerbaijan this year following victories against Scotland and Switzerland in the elite playoff round in the Czech Republic.

The Danes beat the Scots 4-0 before scoring a last minute fluke goal against the Swiss to win 2-1 and qualify. The Danes take on the hosts in their final match tomorrow, but they can’t be caught.

See the freak winning goal against Switzerland below.


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”