Just minutes before the start of the Qatari World Cup, environmental activists gathered on Place de la République, in the capital, around a satirical football match, to denounce the human and ecological toll of the event.

“Eleven hours of work. 40°C. At least 6,500 young workers dead.” Brandishing red cards in angry fists towards the sky, activists are seriously chanting the ecological and human toll of the organization of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Just minutes from kick-off of the competition, it is a singular match that environmental activists, gathered under the banner of Red Card for Qatar, played this Sunday afternoon on the Place de la République in Paris.

16 hours. Under the eyes of the Monument to the Republic and a few dozen onlookers who are not in front of their televisions to watch the opening ceremony, the one-day teams enter a field marked out by activists dressed in red. Whistle, kick off. And the match begins, punctuated by the enthusiastic and ironic words of two commentators present to liven up the game: “We are fine in Doha, where the outside temperature is 45°C. But here, the air is quite breathable thanks to the air conditioning system of these open-air stadiums”, laughs the commentator. His colleague scoffs: “We are proud that this event has been sponsored by eco-responsible companies, such as Coca-Cola, Vinci and Bouygues.”

“Unworthy of the values ​​of sport”

After just a few minutes, another whistle interrupts the game. Then, red cards rise, while burst balloons rain down from all sides. And in a slow declamation, the militants enumerate the inhuman working conditions of the approximately 6,500 workers who died on the construction sites of the stadiums and infrastructure intended to host this World Cup. At the end of this macabre litany, another resounding whistle. Suddenly, all the militants collapse on the ground for a “die-in”, which a yellow and black rubalise labeled “Crime scene” ended up surrounded.

“The idea was to point out both the violation of human rights and the catastrophic ecological impact of this World Cup, describes Pablo Flye, spokesperson from the collective Fridays for Future France. This World Cup is not worthy of beautiful balls, because it is held in conditions unworthy of the values ​​of sport and unworthy of the values ​​of football. he specifies.

“This World Cup, these are air-conditioned open-air stadiums, that’s 160 plane flights a dayregrets for her part Marie-Laure Guislain, member of the collective Le Bruit qui court. As long as the citizens do not show that they no longer want this neoliberal and neo-capitalist system, of destruction of life, nothing can be done.

“No more open-air cemetery”

“Are we really going to ignore global warming, and accept to live for a month in the euphoria of a World Cup for which workers died of heat or thirst? Are we really going to be installed in stadiums at the very place where people died in absolutely inhumane conditions?Pablo is indignant again. How is such a discrepancy possible?

The activists finally suggest that people who come to watch their artistic performance take part in their next sporting or cultural counter-events to boycott the World Cup, so that there is no “never again open-air cemetery for entertainment”.