England manager Gareth Southgate questions impact of a possible Qatar World Cup boycott
England manager Gareth Southgate speaks to the media ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying match
Human rights issues have come into the spotlight ever since Qatar won the rights to host the 2022 World Cup however, Gareth Southgate doesn’t believe that a boycott would bring many benefits.
The England boss was asked about the possibility of a boycott during his press conference ahead of this weekend's clash with Switzerland.
However, the 51-year-old expressed his doubts with regards to the effects of a possible boycott.
He said: "I don't really know what that achieves. It would be a big story but the tournament would go ahead.
"The biggest issue, which is non-religious and non-cultural, is what happened with the building of the stadiums - and there is nothing we can do about that either, sadly.
"We have known for eight years that this is going to be in Qatar. Is the stance against Qatar as a country? We are intertwined, as we are seeing with Russia, with all sorts of investment in this country."
Calls for boycotts were also prevalent in Norway and in Germany, although both football federations decided against it last year.
Southgate added: "It is such a complex world of deals as we have also seen with Saudi Arabia. This is complicated, the issues themselves aren't complicated. All the repercussions if diplomatic relations and dealing with other countries and other organisations are extremely complicated.
"It's possible, but it's not a decision that the players or myself would make."
The England manager also believes that any course of action would ultimately lead to criticism. Nevertheless, he remains confident that his players can use their influence in the right way.
"Whatever we do we are going to be criticised," said Southgate. "We are back out to Qatar for the draw and that means more chances to meet people on the ground.
"There are going to be things ongoing throughout the year, the players have stepped up to the plate on a number of issues. We have got to use our voice in the right way at the right time."
