Arsène Wenger must accept that footballers are people too

“You must not lose the first game. Teams that have experience like England, like France, like Brazil, they played well in the first game. Teams as well who were mentally ready like you said, had the mindset to focus on the competition and not on the political demonstration.”

Not the words of a Qatari Sheik. Not the words of Gianni Infantino. These are the words of a man I once admired, Arsène Wenger.

Speaking at an official FIFA briefing on Sunday, Wenger, FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, seemed to suggest that the German squad’s ‘hands over the mouth’ gesture before their first game showed that they did not have the mentality to do well in the World Cup.

The statement is another episode in a long, unwieldy series of anti-protest declarations from FIFA officials throughout the tournament. Perhaps, the most notorious was President Infantino’s “I feel Qatari” speech.

The Infantino speech was so bizarre that its object was somewhat lost in the ether. But both proclamations had the same aim – to send a message to athletes that protests will ruin your tournament.

This is problematic for multiple reasons. The first among which is it suggests that teams that protest don’t perform, which is just factually incorrect.

Tommie Smith and John Carlos protested on the medal platform at the 1968 Olympic Games after Smith set the 200m world record. Muhammed Ali was stripped of his world title for refusing to participate in the Vietnam war but won it back off George Foreman years later.

Even in this tournament, other, more successful sides have taken part in similar political gestures. For example, England has ‘taken the knee’ before every game, yet Wenger said they were mentally ready, which is correct as the Three Lions have breezed to the quarterfinals.

Obviously, then, the idea that the German football team lost focus because they held their hands over their mouths in a photo is comical at best.

However, the more insidious problem with FIFA’s anti-protest rhetoric is that it dehumanises the athletes by infringing on their fundamental rights.

It is widely understood across western liberal democracies, which Wenger and Infantino both grew up in, that the right to protest and the freedom of expression is the bedrock on which society sits.

So much so that countries worldwide have codified the right to express themselves in their laws.

Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, for example, states:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.”

Hence, by standing against the protests of athletes purely because they are athletes, FIFA is taking the stance that once you step onto a football field, you are no longer human.

You are a non-speaking, non-thinking blob with the sole purpose of entertaining the masses. Despite all the hard work and dedication you put in to get on the pitch and into the public eye; despite the fact that without you, the Qatari government would not have a product to supply; despite the revenue that you generate for the bank account of FIFA and its officials, in their view, you are not allowed an opinion.

This is not the same in other sports. F1 springs to mind, where drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton regularly don rainbow-patterned helmets and race suits. These are all political gestures that occur despite the large amount of Saudi Arabian money pumped into the sport and their government’s staunch anti-LGBTQ+ stance.

Arsène Wenger, Gianni Infantino and alike should take notes. The right to speak out for a cause you believe in should not be reserved for those who choose a particular path.

It should especially not be limited by an organisation that is supposed to represent football on a global stage. On the contrary, FIFA should aim to represent the best the world offers rather than aligning its policies with fascist and authoritarian regimes and silencing those who would otherwise threaten the status quo.

Yet, their idea that ‘football and politics should be separate’ supports the notion that expression is a right from which only a fortunate few should benefit.

By protesting at this tournament, Manuel Neuer and his German side have demonstrated that they have more moral fibre than FIFA and Arsène Wenger can account for. I hope more teams follow Germany’s example because maybe FIFA will accept that footballers are people too.

If you enjoyed this article, read more about Qatar 2022 here.