Stale Solbakken, the manager of Norway, believes that Arsene Wenger has been “brainwashed” into making “the most stupid statements” in his role at FIFA.
Wenger, the former manager of Arsenal, received harsh criticism earlier this month for saying that teams at the World Cup who avoided “political demonstrations” performed better than those who did.
The 73-year-old, who is currently in charge of FIFA’s global football development, made the following remarks during a briefing for the World Cup Technical Study Group.
“The teams who were not disappointing in their first game performance – because when you got to the World Cup you know you have not to lose the first game – are the teams with experience, they have results … they played well in first game,” Wenger said.
“The teams as well who were mentally ready and had the mindset to focus on the competition and not on political demonstrations.”
In a subsequent interview with Norwegian TV channel TV2, Solbakken addressed Wenger’s remarks, and he was blunt in his assessment.
“It shudders me to see that the smartest man in the world, Arsene Wenger, who has been looked up to over the years, has somehow been brainwashed and is now making the most stupid statements,”
“It’s scary with all the people we’ve looked up to in the football world for years. There is a polarisation taking place right now. And I’m afraid that it will only get worse.”
Solbakken asserted that more ought to have been done to prevent the World Cup in Qatar from taking place prior to the start of the competition last month.
“FIFA has been the biggest failing,” he said. “I think nobody is comfortable with it. My personal concerns are on the human rights issue and how FIFA have handled it, which has not been good.
“I don’t think football has done enough, I don’t think journalists have done enough.
“It’s only in the last few years that it is suddenly ‘oh the World Cup in Qatar’. The first years after it was given to Qatar, the whole world was more or less asleep, including football people and journalists.
“We have had strong feelings about Qatar all along, and have tried to put pressure on FIFA and on the political side of it.”
Prior to their World Cup qualifying match against Gibraltar last year, Norway players protested the human rights violations in Qatar by donning t-shirts that read, “HUMAN RIGHTS – on and off the pitch.”
Norway would be issuing a statement prior to the game, Martin Odegaard and manager Stale Solbakken had announced.
“We’re working on something concrete,” Solbakken said in a pre-match press conference.
“It’s about putting pressure on FIFA to be even more direct, even firmer with the authorities in Qatar, to impose stricter requirements.”
Odegaard added: “I have the impression that a lot of (players) are interested in this, care about it and want to do something to try and contribute in a good way.”
