• Sepp Blatter says that choosing Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup was a mistake.
• Concerns have been raised about how migrant workers are treated in Qatar.
• Blatter blames then-Uefa president Michel Platini for the vote to give Qatar the World Cup.

Sepp Blatter, who used to run Fifa, says that giving the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was a “mistake.”

Blatter, who is 86 years old, was president of world soccer’s governing body when Qatar was given the 2010 World Cup.

People have said bad things about how the Gulf state treats migrant workers and how it feels about same-sex relationships.

Khalid Salman, who works for the Qatar World Cup, has said that being gay is “damage to the mind.”

The former Qatari player told the German news station ZDF that LGBTQ+ people who want to go to the tournament should “accept our rules.”

People are worried about how LGBTQ+ people are treated in Qatar, where same-sex relationships and promoting them are illegal and can lead to fines or even the death penalty.

Blatter said that Qatar is “too small” to host the event.

The Qatar World Cup takes place from November 20 to December 18. It is the first time in the tournament’s 92-year history that it has been held in the Middle East and the first time it has been held in the winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

Twelve years ago, the Fifa executive committee voted 14-8 for Qatar to host the tournament instead of the US. At the same time, Russia was given the 2018 tournament.

Blatter says that he voted for the U.S. and that then-Uefa president Michel Platini is to blame for Qatar winning the vote.

“It was a bad choice and I was responsible for that as president at the time,” he said.

“Thanks to the four votes of Platini and his [Uefa] team, the World Cup went to Qatar rather than the United States. It’s the truth.”

Blatter also said that Fifa had changed the way it chose host countries for the 2012 World Cup because of concerns about how migrant workers were treated while building stadiums in Qatar.

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