Real Madrid and Germany midfielder Toni Kroos has sharply criticised 2022 World Cup host nation Qatar in the wake of several European teams protesting about conditions in the Gulf state.

“I think the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar was not a good thing for several reasons,” said Kroos in his podcast ‘Einfach mal Luppen’ (Just lob it), which he co-hosts with his brother Felix.

“The first reason is the conditions of the workers… then the fact that homosexuality is penalised and punished in Qatar… and also that it is not a football country,” added the 31-year-old midfielder.

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