Australia players release statement criticising Qatar

Australia has become the first World Cup finals side to release a collective statement from players criticising host Qatar's human rights record.

Some 16 players, including ex-Arsenal and Brighton goalkeeper Mat Ryan, appear in the video in which they draw issue with the country's treatment of migrants workers and the LGBTQ+ community.

"There are universal values that should define football. Values such as respect, dignity, trust and courage," skipper Ryan said in his section of the statement.

"When we represent our nation, we aspire to embody these values."

Accusations over the treatment of migrant workers and a poor record of human rights have plagued the Gulf state, where same-sex relationships are criminalised, since it was controversially awarded this winter's finals back in 2010.

The Australia video features players Jackson Irvine, Bailey Wright, Jamie Maclaren, Nick D'Agostino, Craig Goodwin, Danny Vukovic, Andrew Redmayne, Mathew Leckie, Mitchell Duke, Mitch Langerak, Denis Genreau, Cameron Devlin, Adam Taggart, Kye Rowles and Alex Wilkinson, the president of union Professional Footballers Australia (PFA).

They acknowledged conditions have improved for workers in Qatar, in particular through the partial dismantling of the kafala system, which allowed employers to take workers' passports and block them from leaving the country.

But the players noted the implementation of reforms "remains inconsistent and requires improvement".

"These migrant workers who have suffered are not just numbers, like the migrants that have shaped our country and our football," the players said.

"They possess the same courage and determination to build a better life.

"Addressing these issues is not easy. And we do not have all the answers.

"We stand