Hugo Lloris says it’s ‘too late’ to pressure controversial Qatar ahead of France’s 2022 World Cup campaign

France captain Hugo Lloris has said that footballers should be allowed to focus on matters on the pitch during the World Cup amid ongoing ructions over Qatar’s suitability to host the sport’s showpiece event.

The number of workers who have died in building the stadia and facilities to bring the World Cup to Qatar has been the subject of much debate in the years leading up to the tournament, which kicks off on Sunday, with The Guardian reporting in February 2021 that 6,500 migrant workers had died. That figure is disputed by the Qatari government, who said that between 2014 and 2020 there were only three “work-related” deaths. The International Labor Organization has estimated that 50 foreign workers lost their lives in 2020 alone and that just over 500 were seriously injured.

In addition to the deaths, homosexuality is illegal in Qatar. The country has said all fans will be welcomed “without discrimination” but Khalid Salman, an ambassador for the World Cup, described the choice as “a damage in the mind” earlier this month, raising fears about how LGBTQ+ fans will be treated if they travel to the gulf state.

FIFA sent a letter to federations last week urging them to “now focus on the football,” adding that the sport should not be “handing out moral lessons.” World football’s governing body also rejected a request by the Danish FA to be allowed to wear the slogan “human rights for all” on their training attire.

Those taking part in the tournament find themselves in something of a quandary. Their mere presence alone could be viewed as an implicit endorsement of the Qatari state but, as Lloris notes, the opportunity to play at a World Cup comes around rarely even for the very best players.

“There’s too much pressure on the players,” said the Tottenham and France captain. “We are at the bottom of the chain. If you have to apply pressure first of all it had to be 10 years ago. Now it’s too late.

“You have to understand that for players this opportunity happens every four years and you want every chance to succeed. The focus has to be on the field. The rest is for politicians. We are athletes. We are going to represent our countries professionally and sportingly. For the rest, it belongs to the others.”

Lloris will lead a France side in Qatar that ranks among the pre-tournament favorites but one with many questions to answer. Injuries to Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante mean Didier Deschamps will be without the midfield axis that powered their run to the crown in Russia four years ago while attacking the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann have often made for more impressive groupings on paper than in practice.

The tag of defending champions has not sat well on teams four years later and each of the three winners prior to France — Italy, Spain and Germany — have crashed out of the group stage in humiliating fashion.

“To be the defending champions is not an easy task,” said Lloris. “If you look at the last three previous champions they struggled a lot and didn’t go through the group stage. This is the first target, obviously, and there’s no easy game at this level.

“We have to play at our best and then we know it’s going to be a different competition from the last 16 onwards, in one game anything is possible. It will be about details.”

Lloris joins up with the France squad after a grueling start to the season that ended in stressful yet successful fashion, Spurs coming back from a goal down on three occasions to win 4-3 over Leeds United. After a run of four defeats in their last seven games had prompted some grumbling from supporters over the approach of Antonio Conte’s side, an inspirational display from Dejan Kulusevski did much to ensure that fans departed the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a six-week break from the club. football in a jubilant mood. With their side fourth in the Premier League and through to the last 16 of the Champions League, they can look to the post-World Cup period with some optimism.

“It’s been very hard,” said Lloris. “We put so much energy into the group stage of the Champions League that as you could see in the last few games of the Premier League we lacked a bit of aggressiveness and intensity. We were a bit passive, always reactive. For sure there are Many, many reasons. We are capable of playing at a better level and playing 90, 95 minutes at the same level.

“At the moment it’s a lot of up and down. The guys gave their best, that’s the most important thing. We reached the next round of the Champions League, that was the main target, and we are still in a top-four place. That’s the positive. The second part of the season will obviously be different and for sure we will have more energy to finish stronger and be more consistent in our performances.

“Since September we’ve played every three or four days. There’s a lot of fatigue. Now the key is to be focused on the recovery in the first few days and start again to prepare your body and mind. Probably it will help to be in a different context, a different place with different faces and energy. But it’s always exciting to play that type of competition, to represent your country and for sure the protagonists will find the right energy to play at their best.”