FIFA will begin the boycott as soon as FIFA allows it, says Valcke

Paris joins big screen boycott of World Cup games from Qatar: “We have to boycott”

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“The boycott will begin as soon as FIFA allows it,” said FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke in comments to the media at a press conference in Zurich. “This is a collective statement from all the World Cup 2014 stakeholders who have decided to boycott the games. The boycott will begin as soon as FIFA allows it.”

FIFA chief Jerome Valcke said on Friday the World Cup host Russia must step in and “make clear to all the authorities and to FIFA not to allow this type of situation.”

“I hope that FIFA will take decisive action this week, and on Friday, to try and reach some type of joint understanding with the authorities in Qatar,” he said.

The statement came in the wake of a statement from Qatar on Thursday that said it was considering “serious and appropriate action regarding the situation of the FIFA World Cup that threatens its integrity as a tournament and its credibility as a world federation”.

“The country has sought to justify its stand by saying it is a sovereign state and it is ready to negotiate with FIFA,” the statement said.

“We will continue to analyse the situation and have given our full support to FIFA’s efforts to guarantee the integrity of this World Cup and the safety of Fifa staff and supporters.”

Earlier, Qatar told AFP it was preparing to send in troops to help secure the World Cup after fans refused to leave stadiums, while a football official said he had offered to accompany the troops.

“We are considering our position,” FIFA’s Qatari football chief Abdulrahman Sheik Ahmed al-Thawadi said.

“We are a sovereign country and it is normal we should make an effort to protect our citizens. It is a normal right of citizens of a sovereign country and it is expected.”

Football officials said FIFA’s security agency, the Security and Cooperation Commission, was ready to assist Qatar but

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