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WORLD CUP

Ballack injury creates doubts for qualifier with Wales

Germany captain Michael Ballack sat out training again on Tuesday as doubts grow whether the Chelsea star will be fit for his country in their World Cup qualifier against Wales on Wednesday.

Published: 15 October 2008 08:15 CEST
Ballack injury creates doubts for qualifier with Wales
Photo: DPA

Ballack scored a first-half goal in the 2-1 win over Russia in Dortmund on Saturday but damaged his left calf late in the game and missed training with the German squad in Düsseldorf on both Monday and Tuesday.

“Michael is in the hands of the team’s doctors and physios, we are monitoring his situation on an hour-by-hour basis,” said Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff ahead of the game in Mönchengladbach. “He is one of our central figures and we are doing all we can to get him fit.”

Germany are top of Group Four with seven points while Wales are second in the group with six points from two wins and a defeat.

Defender Gareth Bale says underdogs Wales have nothing to lose as they look to topple Germany.

The Welsh struggled to a 2-0 win over Liechtenstein in Cardiff on Saturday which put them second in the group behind the Germans who defeated Russia 2-1 in Dortmund.

But Bale insists Wales can afford to throw caution to the wind and attack hosts Germany in Mönchengladbach.

“We’re going there looking for a result,” said Bale. “And there’s no reason why we can’t do that. There’s no pressure on us, we’re the underdogs and we just need to go out there and play our own football.”

Bale injured an ankle and missed the game when Wales drew 0-0 with Germany in Frankfurt 11 months ago in their final Euro 2008 qualifying match, but says the experience of earning a point away has boosted the Welsh. “Knowing we’ve enjoyed a positive result against them so recently will give us a lot of confidence,” he said.

And Bale’s Tottenham Hotspur team-mate Chris Gunter agreed Wales can leave Mönchengladbach with a point after losing 2-1 to Russia in Moscow last month. “If we are to qualify, we need to pick up points away from home,” Gunter told BBC Sport.

“We were unlucky in Russia, and there’s no reason why we can’t go to Germany and pick something up. We have no fear and are going there to get something.”

Germany showed weaknesses for John Toshack’s team to exploit against Russia in a Jekyll-and-Hyde performance.

The first-half goals by Ballack and Bayern Munich’s Lukas Podolski capped an impressive first 45 minutes dominated by the home side. But their defence creaked, especially down the right flank, as Russia attacked the home side in the second-half and only some good work from Germany goalkeeper Rene Adler, on his debut, prevented Russia from equalising.

Meanwhile Schalke 04 striker Kevin Kuranyi has been told by Germany coach Joachim Löw he will not be selected for his country again after walking out of the squad during Saturday’s win over Russia.

Welsh captain Craig Bellamy, who made his first start for Wales since October last year against Liechtenstein, is set to start as his country’s lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation.

Löw has said he expects his side to take another three points from Wales and a win would put them at least three points clear at the top of the table regardless of what happens when Russia play Finland the same night in Moscow.

“The Welsh play differently from the Russians, they are a typically British team who prevent goals being scored with hard work and a robust defence,” said Löw.

SPORT

Norway’s football clubs to vote on Qatar World Cup boycott

Will Norwegian football star Erling Braut Haaland stay home or play on what fans have dubbed a "cemetery?" This Sunday, a meeting of Norway's football community will decide whether to boycott next year's World Cup in Qatar.

Published: 18 June 2021 11:27 CEST
Norway's football clubs to vote on Qatar World Cup boycott
Norway's forward Erling Haaland (L) and teammates wear jerseys reading "Fair play for migrant workers" before the international friendly football match between Norway and Greece at La Rosaleda stadium in Malaga in preperation for the UEFA European Championships, on June 6, 2021. JORGE GUERRERO / AFP

Under pressure from grassroots activists the Norwegian Football Federation(NFF) has decided to hold an extraordinary congress to decide on whether to pass up football’s showpiece event all together.

The games on the pitches in the Middle Eastern emirate will “unfortunately be like playing on a cemetery,” according to Ole Kristian Sandvik, spokesman of the Norwegian Supporters Alliance (NSA), invoking a commonly used metaphor among opponents of Norway’s participation.

Norway, which has not qualified for a major international competition since Euro 2000, is currently fourth in its World Cup qualifying group behind Turkey, the Netherlands and Montenegro. 

So while qualification seems an uphill task, the result of the vote could have an impact on whether Norway and its young star Haaland — one of the rising stars of world football — continue to play qualifying matches. 

The movement calling for a boycott began north of the Arctic Circle when football club Tromso IL spoke out against turning a blind eye to alleged human rights abuses at the end of February.

“We can no longer sit and watch people die in the name of football,” the first division club proclaimed.

Qatar has faced criticism for its treatment of migrant workers, many of whom are involved in the construction of stadiums and infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup, with campaigners accusing employers of exploitation and forcing labourers to work in dangerous conditions.

Qatari authorities meanwhile insist they have done more than any country in the region to improve worker welfare.

“There is no doubt that this World Cup should never have been awarded to Qatar,” Tom Hogli, a former professional footballer turned public relations officer for Tromso IL, told AFP.

“The conditions there are abominable and many have lost their lives,” he added.

In March, a spokesman for the Qatari organisers put the number of deaths on the construction sites at “three” since 2014, with another 35 having died away from their workplaces, challenging the heavy toll reported by some rights groups.

Push from fans
The Tromso call began gathering pace in Norway, where clubs operate under a democratic structure, and under pressure from fans, many teams now say “nei” (no).

According to Sandvik, the fans feel that the deaths on the World Cup sites would have been avoided “if they had not had to build hotels, railways and stadiums”.

Nearly half of Norwegians, 49 percent, now say they are in favour of a boycott, while only 29 percent are against it, according to a poll published by newspaper VG on Wednesday.

The Nordic country’s national squad has already protested conditions in Qatar, but stopped short of calling for a boycott.

Before recent Norway games, Borussia Dortmund superstar Haaland, captain Martin Odegaard and the rest of the team have worn t-shirts with slogans like “Human rights on and off the pitch.”

Other countries, like Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark have also followed suit.

FIFA, on the other hand, argue that awarding the hosting of the World Cup in Qatar has opened the door to social progress.

“We know there is still work to be done, but we need to recognise the significant progress achieved in a very short time,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in May.

‘Few successes’ 
While the executive committee of the NFF have said they regret Qatar being awarded the World Cup, they oppose a boycott.

President Terje Svendsen said he thought it was “not the right tool to improve the human rights situation or the working conditions in Qatar,” when speaking at the federation’s ordinary annual congress in March.

According to the NFF, a boycott could end up costing Norway 205 million Norwegian kroner ($24 million, 20 million euros) in fines and compensation as well as lost revenue.

Feeling the pressure from grassroots campaigns, the NFF referred the matter to an extraordinary congress which on Sunday will bring together the eight members of its executive committee, representatives of 18 districts and of hundreds of professional and amateur clubs.

The discussions will be revolve around the findings of an expert committee which, with the exception of two members representing fans, has also come out against a boycott.

“For a boycott to succeed, you need a critical mass behind it, an opposition that calls for it in the country, the UN to put pressure on the
authorities, the business world, the trade unions and civil society to put pressure on it in the long term,” committee chairman Sven Mollekleiv said in a debate hosted by broadcaster TV2.

“Historically, there are few successes,” he said.

Rather than a boycott, the committee recommended 26 measures to consolidate and further the gains made in Qatar but also to ensure that FIFA doesn’t become complicit in so called “sportswashing” — the polishing of a country’s public image through a major sporting event.

Some initial supporters of a boycott, like Tromso’s Hogli, have since sided with these conclusions, although calls for a complete boycott remain.

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