Theo Zwanziger, the former president of the German soccer federation and member of FIFA’s executive committee, won a preliminary ruling in the case over whether he can continue to refer toQatar as a “cancerous growth of world soccer.”
“I have always said that Qatar was a cancerous growth of world soccer,” Zwanziger said in a radio interview in June. “It allstarted with that decision,” referring to FIFA’s problems that arose after the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.
The Qatar Football Association sued Zwanziger, calling thedescription “unacceptable slander and vilification” of Qatar and its citizens. (The Qatar federation’s lawyer noted Zwanziger’s own problems, relating to the award of the 2006 World Cup toGermany.)
The Duesseldorf court will make a final ruling on April 19.