Qatar to sue former German official over 'unacceptable slander'

The Qatari government and Qatari Football Association have announced they will take legal action against a former German Football Association president.

In a statement released to the German news agency DPA, they said they were planning to sue Theo Zwanziger over "unacceptable slander and degradation of [Qatari] citizens and society".

The decision came after Zwanziger spoke to the German radio station hr-info about the controversial Qatari hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

"I have always made it clear that Qatar was a cancer on world football," he said. "How can a country half the size of [the German state of] Hesse host the world's biggest football event?"

The statement said that Qatar took an objective approach to criticism and controversial discussions, even if such was not deemed "justified".

"Freedom of speech is permitted, but it does not include the right to defame and insult by using a term such as 'cancer'," it said.

Zwanziger has been a vocal critic of FIFA's decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.

He was especially concerned about human rights violations relating to the alleged exploitation of migrant labourers employed on large-scale infrastructure projects ahead of one of the world's largest and most profitable sports events.

In 2013, he described FIFA's decision as a "blatant mistake".

Qatar has been widely criticised by international media and football associations over allegations of corruption during the World Cup bidding process.