Rummenigge warns Germany, England

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has warned Germany and England not to go overboard with their criticism of Qatar during the Munich Media Days.

On Wednesday, Rummenigge, 58, attended the event and during a talk on one of the exhibition stands warned Germany and England – in the light of recent allegations about the working conditions, the arrest of a German journalist and the ongoing discussion of when to play the tournament – to not exaggerate their criticism of the 2022 World Cup.

“Us Germans must be careful not to overdo criticism,” he said. “The two countries chucking about the most criticism are Germany and England, who, of course, top everything.

“We should not forget that our industry is firmly established in Qatar. The German Rail (DB), for instance, is in charge of their metro system.”

“I was there in February and you get the impression that Qatar is on top of things.”

Rummenigge is also the chairman of the European Club Association. In February, the ECA met in Qatar for the annual assembly. Their flights, luxury accommodation and three days of hosting for delegates cost were fully funded by Qatar 2022 organisers.

When returning from his visit to Qatar, Rummenigge failed to declare two Rolex watches, believed to be worth around 100,000 euros in total. However, he explained that a friend had presented the watches to him as a gift.

Rummenigge was fined 250,000 euros for not declaring the watches, but German media suggested that the Bayern CEO might have been under the impression that he did not have to declare gifts.