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Tribune News Network
Doha
French Football Federation President Noel Le Graet has said he was astonished by the attack on Qatar's competence to host the FIFA World Cup 2022 despite proving it several months in advance.
"I am surprised by this attack on a country that showed its readiness to organize the World Cup five months before the start of the tournament, and despite that, there are still those who question Qatar's ability to organize," he said.
Speaking in an interview with RTL, Le Graet defended the decision to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“I believe there has been an excessive campaign [against Qatar]. But you know, we like to be a little excessive in France on a lot of issues. The political side surprised me a little at times. I believe this country is what it is. I look at the football side. It is up to the politicians to do their job. Qatar and France still sign relatively big contracts and the two governments get along not so badly. We still have nothing to complain about with PSG, Nasser (Al-Khelaifi) and his teams. I think the reviews before were overdone. The proof is that the [TV] record was beaten on Tuesday evening, the bistros and cafes were full everywhere. I received lots of photos of young people, there were dozens, tens or four or five. Anyway, the French team comes above all of that.”