There has been a "chilling" effect on the voice of footballers concerned that speaking up about human rights abuses could cost them their World Cup dream, says former Socceroos captain Craig Foster.
Human rights and geopolitical tensions, especially around the United States' immigration crackdown and Iran's participation in the tournament, are in the spotlight as the games approach.
Socceroos stalwart Jackson Irvine last month made global headlines when he said FIFA awarding its inaugural Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump made a mockery of its own human rights charter.
But there has been little commentary from other players across the 48 teams as the tournament nears, in stark comparison to when the Socceroos were involved in a video campaign criticising 2022 host Qatar's human rights record.
