European Parliament MP Rebecca Harms called for boycott of 2018 World Cup in Russia
In an interview with the German publication Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung , Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Rebecca Harms has urged politicians and visitors to boycott the World Cup in Russia.
"Politicians and visitors should stay away from the 2018 World Cup," Harms said.
The MEP added that Russia is not a country where it is worth holding such competitions. She named former German President Joachim Gauck, who refused to attend the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014, as a model example.
The MEP stressed that Vladimir Putin will get too much attention thanks to the championship, which is wrong.
"He is bathed in glory in the presence of foreign guests while continuing to pursue his anti-democratic policies, which no democrat can accept," added Harms.
Harms also criticized the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), which ignored allegations corruption and doping on the part of Russia.
The former head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov, said earlier that Russian Deputy Minister of Sports Yuri Nagornykh asked him to "spoil" the doping test of Ukrainian biathlete Vita Semerenko just before the Sochi Olympics.