Carrefour has said that reports that it plans to boycott the upcoming football World Cup in Qatar are 'fake news' and 'groundless', with the retailer adding that it is 'strongly committed' to its operations in the country.
Last week, reports suggested that a number of sponsors of the Belgian national team, including ING Belgium, beer brand Jupiler, courier GLS and Carrefour were to refuse their allocation of tickets, due to human rights concerns.
Carrefour Issues A Statement
Carrefour has since rejected these claims, issuing a statement on its Qatar operations' website that read, "This fake news is groundless. Carrefour Group and its subsidiaries are not engaged in any boycott action of the World Cup in Qatar.
"As Carrefour Qatar, we reiterate the same position with full commitment to, and support of the World Cup in Qatar, as well as remaining strongly committed to operating in Qatar, where we look forward to serving our valued customers and guests of the upcoming Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022."
Official Statement @dohanews pic.twitter.com/glWFBiONX6
— Carrefour Qatar | كارفور قطر (@Carrefour_qa) April 22, 2022
Its French website was even more succinct, also issuing a statement that read 'Some media report that Carrefour subsidiaries could boycott the Qatar World Cup. This fake news is groundless. Carrefour and its subsidiaries are not engaged in a boycott of any kind.'
'More Can Be Done'
Beer brand Jupiler, which is part of AB InBev, did indicate, however, that it would not be sending a delegation to the World Cup as an official sponsor of the Belgian national team, saying that 'more can be done' to promote human rights in Qatar, according to reports.
'We recognise our responsibility to respect human rights, and we believe that the world is a better place when human rights are respected,' it noted.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
