Pressure mounts on SFA to act over Scotland-Qatar game marred by human rights abuses

Anger over the Scotland-Qatar game comes as Fifa, the sports governing body, is embroiled in a series of scandals over alleged corruption and bribery, as well as upsetting Europe and America over the re-election of Fifa's president Sepp Blatter.

Some of Scotland's most prominent human rights activists and leading supporters' organisations have now spoken out against the human rights violations in Qatar, with some comparing the country's record to that of apartheid South Africa.

Amnesty International's Gulf Migrant Rights Researcher Mustafa Qadri said: "While Qatar's national team takes to the football pitch, over 1.5 million migrant workers continue to risk forced labour and other abuses in the Gulf nation. Many thousands of those facing abuse are working on World Cup-related projects.

"The FA, the football bodies in Northern Ireland [Qatar is playing Northern Ireland today] and Scotland, the sponsors, the players and fans, as well as governments around the world, must send a clear message that they will not tolerate a tournament built on the back of migrant labour abuse."

Mass opposition to the staging of the World Cup in Qatar has been building. Amnesty International has highlighted the human rights abuses taking place in the country and, earlier this month, a team of BBC journalists was arrested for attempting to film the conditions in which migrant workers are living, provoking widespread condemnation of Qatar.

A spokesperson for Amnesty International said that although they do not support a boycott of the Scotland-Qatar game, the human rights organisation believes it is a chance for the SFA to make a clear statement, speaking out against what is happening in Qatar.

In February of this year, SFA president Campbell Ogilvie travelled to Qatar to meet officials from the country's Football Association where he said he hoped the two organisations could work together in the future.

Saud Abdulaziz Al Mohannadi of the Qatari FA said during the meeting that two countries would have an "enhanced relationship ... in order to improve the football system in both Qatar and Scotland".

Over the weekend however, the SFA chief executive Stewart Regan floated the idea of UEFA, the European governing body which voted against Sepp Blatter in FIFA's presidential elections on Friday, boycotting future World Cups if the Swiss were to be re-elected.

Nevertheless, there is no suggestion that the SFA will move to call off Friday's match at Easter Road.

Of Fifa, Regan said: "There has to be change. There has to be change now. There could, of course, be a rival body. There could be threats of not participating in competitions. There are a number of options."

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon supported Regan's calls for real change in the way Fifa is run, saying that the latest developments have been "deeply disturbing".

She added: "This week's arrests of senior Fifa officials on charges of corruption are deeply concerning for anyone who cares about football. The World Cup is too important to be tarnished with scandal and suggestions of criminal behaviour. I support the calls of Stewart Regan, chief executive of the Scottish FA, for fundamental and urgent changes to the way Fifa is governed and share his disappointment at the Fifa election result. A change of Fifa leadership appears to me to be crucial to rebuilding its reputation."

Although, the Scottish Government said last night that they expect all states to comply with human rights law, they did not condemn the decision to hold the Qatar friendly in Edinburgh.

The Sunday Herald asked for interviews with Shona Robison and John Nicolson, who hold the SNP portfolio for sport in Holyrood and Westminster respectively, as well as Humza Yousaf, the party's international development spokesman, but none were available for comment.

Yousaf has already travelled to Qatar to raise concerns around the abuse of human rights in their World Cup preparations and offered to help the country protect human rights throughout the whole process.

Scotland's most prominent human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar is, however, supporting calls for a boycott of the game, and condemned the lack of action from football associations across the world to address the situation in Qatar.

"When you consider how many workers have died trying to build a World Cup stadium for Fifa it is an absolute disgrace," Anwar said.

"The problem is that our own football associations have had very little to say about this situation and it is about time they put their heads above the parapet and make a stand."

The SFA said yesterday that the fixture against Qatar was arranged due to the convenience of them already being in the UK to face Northern Ireland - as well as the need to play a game before facing the Republic of Ireland in a crucial Euro 2016 qualifying match just days later.

However, the outcome of the Qatar match could actually end up jeopardising Scotland's world ranking, and ultimately their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign due to the complex nature of Fifa's seeding system.

Former SFA chief executive Gordon Smith went further than most in football however, when in an interview with the Sunday Herald last night he compared the Scotland-Qatar game to playing South Africa in the 1980's. However, he then went on to say that he understood why the game is going ahead.

Smith said: "I can understand why there are calls for a boycott. It's a bit like if they had arranged a friendly with South Africa during apartheid . . . there would have been a lot of political ill feeling.

"It is a similar situation now because of what is happening in Qatar and how people are being treated - but Scotland needs a match before they play the Republic of Ireland. So in a footballing sense I can see why it's going ahead, but I understand the political opposition as well."

Andrew Jenkin, head of fans organisation Supporters Direct, said that action should be taken over the game, as football can be a great tool to bring light to such situations.

"We have seen boycotts of countries which have poor human rights records in the past, such as South Africa during apartheid," Jenkin said. "I don't know if boycotting is the right thing to do but there are many examples of when people have stood up and made sure that sport is the vehicle to express their disdain as to what is going on.

"It's a difficult situation but what's going on in Qatar is not acceptable and football could be the perfect avenue for us to express that in Scotland, we will not stand for it."

West of Scotland Tartan Army spokesperson Hamish Husband said that he is aware of many fans who have taken the decision to boycott of the game.

"I am aware of many longstanding Scotland fans who decided to boycott the game the minute it was announced," Husband said.

"The boycott is happening because of human rights and the slave labour-type treatment of many of the workers building these stadiums. It's not about how Qatar was chosen, that's irrelevant."