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Outspoken Socceroo Jackson Irvine says players hope to “continue to talk about’’ Australian human rights issues after accusations of hypocrisy over their strong stand taken against World Cup hosts Qatar.
Australia became the first World Cup nation to make a united public statement on the host nation’s human rights record, and their laws against same-sex relationships, in a video posted a ahead of the tournament.
Socceroos players have largely dodged questions about it in Doha this week but Irvine, the unofficial spokesperson on the issue, fronted the media a day after the opening 4-1 loss to France.
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He was asked about the double-standards of not shining a light on human rights issues in Australia, including the treatment of indigenous people — a point made by Qatar’s Supreme Committee in a response statement saying “no country is perfect”.
“I hope it’s something as a team we do continue to talk about. I’ve commented in the past on problems we have at home, as much as the issues we’ve talked about here,” Irvine told Australian media.
“Us as players and being part of this tournament we’re so intrinsically linked to these issues at this time, which is why we felt it was (important).
“People talk about the hypocrisy of these issues but not talking about ones that happen at home.
“I hope that’s something we continue to explore in future as part of our growth as a team and as individuals. That’s something to look at moving forward.”
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Player protests remain a hot topic in Qatar after FIFA threatened sanctions for players and teams that wore “One Love” armbands. Germany’s team made a significant statement by covering their mouths when they lined up for a team photo before their loss to Japan, indicating they had been gagged by FIFA.
Irvine expressed sympathy for the nations who intended to wear the armbands but also said, from his discussions, the LBGTQI+ community felt it lacked “a real statement in what it’s trying to achieve”.
“I can’t speak for other countries and the decisions they make,” Irvine said.
“What they feel is the right way to protest any kind of social injustice they feel is being done.
“The One Love armband is an interesting discussion in itself, because the conversations I’ve had with people from the LGBTQI+ community have already described that messaging as vague and lacking a real statement in what it’s trying to achieve as well.
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“It’s a tough one to dissect, obviously it’s been changing by the day. Changes through regulation, and then changes through decisions that teams have made and players have made.
“It’s tough to react when things change so quickly for those players and those teams.
“But when all is said and done there’ll be a time to really dissect how those messages have gone out and the way they chose to do it.
“… All I can do is speak from our point of view and obviously say how proud I am of our squad and the clear position we took coming into this tournament
“There was no possibility to have that change thrown on us at a late stage. From our perspective that’s why we chose to do that and the timing in which we did it as well.”
Irvine, meanwhile, insisted the Socceroos were well-placed to bounce back from Wednesday’s defeat ahead of what looms as a must-win showdown with Tunisia on Saturday (AEDT).
Players who featured were given only light training duties in Doha on Wednesday and Australia should be boosted by the return to fitness of key midfielder Ajdin Hrustic (ankle).
“It (the defeat) is still quite raw,” Irvine said. “When you come off the pitch everything is so fresh that you can’t really see things too clearly.
“We will look back at some of those things today but the mentality has to be ‘move on quickly’.
“Obviously (we look at) where we can improve, what we did well, and what we can take forward but generally speaking the mentality has already switched into focusing on the next game and using last night as a platform to build for Saturday rather than over-thinking how that game went.”
