DIRECTFLT wrote:

FIFA president blasts ‘hypocrisy’ of Western critics of World Cup host Qatar

https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east ... host-qatar

Infantino, speaking at his opening press conference of the tournament in Doha, had harsh words for critics of Qatar.

"This moral lesson-giving – one-sided – is just hypocrisy," said the Swiss.

"I don't want to give you any lessons of life, but what is going on here is profoundly, profoundly unjust."

He added: "For what we Europeans have been doing for the last 3,000 years we should apologise for the next 3,000 years before starting giving moral lessons to people."

He needs to shut up and stop embarrassing himself.

One does have to wonder if the ancillary income from hosting these world events is actually worth it, I think in general the construction and fan attendance along with the sponsorships deals done do not balance out, as the host nation has to share with the governing bodies.
How much is that prestige worth after the event, how many of the so called convertible or secondary use buildings / stadiums are actually re-used, why are all the fancy predictions prior never pan out?
The link below is for the Olympics, is the world cup much different?
https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story ... lympic-rio

davidjohnson6 wrote:

af773atmsp wrote:

davidjohnson6 wrote:

Can we try to stop being quite so negative on this ? Yes, the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar was corrupt, but it is what it is. The absence of beer is not a disaster and few would claim a human right to drink alcohol.... when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
There were far worse abuses of human rights in the USSR in the 1970s, but the world did not end when Moscow hosted the 1980 summer Olympics.
AFAIK, the boycott of the Moscow Olympics was because of the invasion of Afghanistan.... human rights in the USSR was not given as a reason for the boycott by the USA.

So we should support Qatar hosting the World Cup because their human rights abuses aren't as bad as other places that hosted major events?

Perhaps you should watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ALeYFi_1hg

Nobody needs to support the event.... but there are other places in the world which see rather more serious abuses of human rights in 2022. North Korea might be a good place to focus your attention first. The world has never been a fair place.

Seems to me like you're making excuses for Qatar. People can be outraged over North Korea's human rights violations while also being outraged at what Qatar has done, especially since some of these violations are related to them hosting the World Cup.

par13del wrote:

One does have to wonder if the ancillary income from hosting these world events is actually worth it, I think in general the construction and fan attendance along with the sponsorships deals done do not balance out, as the host nation has to share with the governing bodies.
How much is that prestige worth after the event, how many of the so called convertible or secondary use buildings / stadiums are actually re-used, why are all the fancy predictions prior never pan out?
The link below is for the Olympics, is the world cup much different?
https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story ... lympic-rio

The stadiums will not be useful for Qatar and the plan was to dismantle them and donate them to other countries. Will that happen ? Your guess is as good as mine.

Qatar clearly planned to spend billions for clout, publicity, goodwill, there was no economic equation. Just like for the Olympics in China and Russia, the WC in Russia...

So much bad publicity coming out of it is a nightmare for them, making the money not only wasted but counterproductive.

I don’t know if the posters here follow the YouTube channel “Thogden”.

https://youtu.be/TL4oS1r36Ms

He’s trying to set a world record by attending every single WC match. His video blogs of matches are always fun to watch, and very informative of showing the atmosphere at games and interviews with fans.

So if you want a real look at what’s happening on ground in Qatar and how the fans at stadiums and on the streets are thinking then I suggest watching his channel. So far he seems quite impressed with the atmosphere, even having (expensive) beers at an Irish pub in Doha.

I think all this talk about beers and human rights will quickly subside once the football starts. This is going to be a historic tournament. The last time we’ll probably see the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Modric, Suarez, Lewandowski, Benzema, Neuer, Müller, Di Maria, Giroud, Hazard, Busquets et al at a World Cup. An entire generation of stars that have dominated football for the last 15 years will be gone. And a new generation who will dominate the next 15 will replace them. The world will be watching to see who? Who will win the probable epic Brazil vs Argentina semi final? How far can the breakout underdog go, will another nation the size of Croatia make it to the final?

Already looks like we’ll have some epic games lined up the the knockouts and the groups. Once they start being played I think all the talk of politics will be over. I’m actually glad a major international sporting tournament is being held in a different place from the usual US/EU/East Asian dominant nations. It’s time to spread the love, realise there’s a big world out there outside of the first world who deserve to host tournaments.

Don’t forget there was also criticism of Russia in 2018 over LGBT rights and Putin’s evil actions (until the football started). Or China over the 2008/2022 Olympics (until the sport started). Don’t remember much criticism over the US holding sports events after the illegal Iraq invasion. Seems that criticism of sporting events is selective…..

SRQLOT wrote:

Just saw a pic of the container village for the regular soccer shmo . Up to $185 a night for no AC or bathrooms. Sounds like fun!!!!!!

Here’s a video of a fan staying in one of those units:

https://twitter.com/melvinnasasira/stat ... frame.html

Clearly there’s an air con unit and a bathroom.

In Australia we have very similar accommodation made out of shipping containers for mining workers in the outback. They all have air con and bathrooms and are quite comfortable to stay in for weeks at a time even in 40 degree heat. I’d have no problem staying in similar accommodation in Qatar.

Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s former president, said that awarding Qatar the World Cup was a mistake. He didn’t mention anything about human rights issues, but thought that Qatar was too small a country to handle such a big event. He blamed Michel Platini, former UEFA president, for pressuring this to happen.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... up-mistake

M564038 wrote:

Infantino read one of Putin’s speeches and thought his logic and debate technique was so great he had to adopt it. So Qatar has to do modern slavery, misogony and racism because of something someone living in europe did 3000 years ago. Got it!

DIRECTFLT wrote:

FIFA president blasts ‘hypocrisy’ of Western critics of World Cup host Qatar

https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east ... host-qatar

Infantino, speaking at his opening press conference of the tournament in Doha, had harsh words for critics of Qatar.

"This moral lesson-giving – one-sided – is just hypocrisy," said the Swiss.

"I don't want to give you any lessons of life, but what is going on here is profoundly, profoundly unjust."

He added: "For what we Europeans have been doing for the last 3,000 years we should apologise for the next 3,000 years before starting giving moral lessons to people."

Kind of rich for any Swiss, who’ve been coddling and enabling human rights abusing dictators for years, to be scolding others like that. Blatter didn’t say anything about Qatar’s human rights issues, but considering he’s Swiss, it probably isn’t a concern for him.

sierrakilo44 wrote:

Don’t forget there was also criticism of Russia in 2018 over LGBT rights and Putin’s evil actions (until the football started). Or China over the 2008/2022 Olympics (until the sport started). Don’t remember much criticism over the US holding sports events after the illegal Iraq invasion. Seems that criticism of sporting events is selective…..

Just curious if you, personally, have a problems with Qatar’s human rights issues? You seem awfully blasé about it now for the sake of sport.

Also, the Iraq war started in 2003. Last major global sporting event held in the US was the Winter Olympics in 2002. No sporting event of the magnitude of the Olympics or World Cup has been held in the US since then.

leader1 wrote:

Just curious if you, personally, have a problems with Qatar’s human rights issues? You seem awfully blasé about it now for the sake of sport.

Yes, but I just find it ludicrous now that it’s being turned into the major talking point. How many times has a thread on this forum about QR, EK or EY been turned into a discussion of Emirati human rights? Never, or very rarely. It’s usually about the topic at hand.

How many times have we seen “Fly Emirates” or “Qatar Airways” adorn the logo of Real Madrid or Barcelona and then a major campaign or controversy to boycott it? Like never. Same with the Qatari’s buying PSG. Sure there may be limited minor criticisms here and there but not at the level of consciousness and dominance the world has suddenly discovered in the lead up to Qatar.

Arab oil money and influence is rife through western society. We never cared greatly about it up until now. So either drop all the sponsorship from the ME and reduce the amount of flights their carriers make into the west, or accept Qatar is hosting in 2022 and get on with it.

Also, the Iraq war started in 2003. Last major global sporting event held in the US was the Winter Olympics in 2002. No sporting event of the magnitude of the Olympics or World Cup has been held in the US since then.

Except the UK was a very enthusiastic participant in the illegal Iraq invasion too. Didn’t stop them from being awarded the 2012 Olympics within two years of that invasion, right as the lobbying process would have been ongoing.

I did a quick Google search and found almost no criticism or opposition to the UK hosting the Olympics in 2012 due to the UK’s illegal Iraq invasion. Although there may have been some it was minor and didn’t come from any really figures of weight. So there’s a straight up example of hypocrisy. New York in the running too for 2012 and again no real suggestions the US should be boycotted due illegal Iraq invasion.

If some teams are going to run onto pitches in Qatar with rainbow armbands for LGBT rights (which I support) I can imagine the uproar and hypocrisy if Iran in their England, Wales and USA games ran onto the pitch with armbands showing pictures of innocent Middle Eastern civilians killed in wars started by those nations. Or maybe victims of IR655 in the USA game. I don’t think “tolerance” will be widespread in that scenario.

sierrakilo44 wrote:

Yes, but I just find it ludicrous now that it’s being turned into the major talking point. How many times has a thread on this forum about QR, EK or EY been turned into a discussion of Emirati human rights? Never, or very rarely. It’s usually about the topic at hand.

How many times have we seen “Fly Emirates” or “Qatar Airways” adorn the logo of Real Madrid or Barcelona and then a major campaign or controversy to boycott it? Like never. Same with the Qatari’s buying PSG. Sure there may be limited minor criticisms here and there but not at the level of consciousness and dominance the world has suddenly discovered in the lead up to Qatar.

Arab oil money and influence is rife through western society. We never cared greatly about it up until now. So either drop all the sponsorship from the ME and reduce the amount of flights their carriers make into the west, or accept Qatar is hosting in 2022 and get on with it.

Except the UK was a very enthusiastic participant in the illegal Iraq invasion too. Didn’t stop them from being awarded the 2012 Olympics within two years of that invasion, right as the lobbying process would have been ongoing.

I did a quick Google search and found almost no criticism or opposition to the UK hosting the Olympics in 2012 due to the UK’s illegal Iraq invasion. Although there may have been some it was minor and didn’t come from any really figures of weight. So there’s a straight up example of hypocrisy.

The UK, not the US. You brought up the US.

And it’s just as bad as the hypocrisy from the left being the first to criticize any transgression by the West, but giving a pass to everyone else. Like you seem to be doing with Qatar. You seem more offended by the UK’s participation in the Iraq War (which Australia also partook in), but not a peep about how Qatar or any other dictatorship treats the LGBTQ community, etc. If that isn’t an example of hypocrisy, then I don’t know what is.

If you’re so offended by this “hypocrisy”, why are you still living in the West? Why not move to one of these other countries then?

If some teams are going to run onto pitches in Qatar with rainbow armbands for LGBT rights (which I support) I can imagine the uproar and hypocrisy if Iran in their England, Wales and USA games ran onto the pitch with armbands showing pictures of innocent Middle Eastern civilians killed in wars started by those nations. Or maybe victims of IR655 in the USA game. I don’t think “tolerance” will be widespread in that scenario.

Why don’t you test that theory out if you supposedly feel so strongly about it. And would that apply to Ukrainian Airlines 752?

leader1 wrote:

The UK, not the US. You brought up the US.

And the UK was an active participant too. Tony Blair stood Side by side with GW Bush.

And it’s just as bad as the hypocrisy from the left being the first to criticize any transgression by the West, but giving a pass to everyone else. Like you seem to be doing with Qatar.

Did you miss the part where I said I agreed that Qatar has human rights abuses and I support the wearing of pro LGBT arm bands at matches?

You seem more offended by the UK’s participation in the Iraq War (which Australia also partook in), but not a peep about how Qatar or any other dictatorship treats the LGBTQ community, etc. If that isn’t an example of hypocrisy, then I don’t know what is.

Actually no, as I said I acknowledge that Qatar has human rights abuses, and as an Australian I was totally opposed to our criminal involvement in that illegal war. It was one of the most shameful acts ever by the Australian government, and I believe Australia’s leaders at the time should have faced criminal charges over it.

If you’re so offended by this “hypocrisy”, why are you still living in the West? Why not move to one of these other countries then?

Uhhh, the old “if you don’t love it, leave” argument. Tired and non sensical nationalism. It would be hard to find a nation on the planet that has never participated in evil acts. Instead how about we aim to better our societies? If Australia had been awarded the 2022 World Cup I would have certainly attended matches and cheered on my favourite teams with gusto, without making a point about the human rights abuses committed by Australia.

Doesn’t mean I’m not appalled by Australia’s human rights abuses, like our participation in the illegal Iraq war or war crimes in Afghanistan, or our treatment of indigenous Australians or refugees or the capture of our government by fossil fuel interests.

leader1 wrote:

Why don’t you test that theory out if you supposedly feel so strongly about it. And would that apply to Ukrainian Airlines 752?

I’m not playing in the tournament. I respect the rights of players to make a pro LGBT statement on their uniforms, but I just want to see if the reaction is the same if players from other nations make a similar statement aimed in the other direction.

sierrakilo44 wrote:

Did you miss the part where I said I agreed that Qatar has human rights abuses and I support the wearing of pro LGBT arm bands at matches?

You’ve only mentioned this in passing, but your main point was about transgressions by the West. Your other posts also focus on Western transgressions, but nothing about what happens with other countries. Unless otherwise stated, it seems that what happens elsewhere doesn’t bother you so much.

Actually no, as I said I acknowledge that Qatar has human rights abuses, and as an Australian I was totally opposed to our criminal involvement in that illegal war. It was one of the most shameful acts ever by the Australian government, and I believe Australia’s leaders at the time should have faced criminal charges over it.

Ok…then should other heads of state, like those in Russia, face criminal charges for what they have done? Judging by your posts, seem most offended by the West.

Uhhh, the old “if you don’t love it, leave” argument. Tired and non sensical nationalism. It would be hard to find a nation on the planet that has never participated in evil acts. Instead how about we aim to better our societies? If Australia had been awarded the 2022 World Cup I would have certainly attended matches and cheered on my favourite teams with gusto, without making a point about the human rights abuses committed by Australia.

Doesn’t mean I’m not appalled by Australia’s human rights abuses, like our participation in the illegal Iraq war or war crimes in Afghanistan, or our treatment of indigenous Australians or refugees or the capture of our government by fossil fuel interests.

It’s a fair question to ask considering the magnitude of the disdain you exhibit by anything done by the West and apparent disregard of everything else. One can only assume that you’d probably be happier in some of these dictatorships since you rarely comment on whatever transgressions they partake in.

leader1 wrote:

sierrakilo44 wrote:

Did you miss the part where I said I agreed that Qatar has human rights abuses and I support the wearing of pro LGBT arm bands at matches?

You’ve only mentioned this in passing, but your main point was about transgressions by the West. Your other posts also focus on Western transgressions, but nothing about what happens with other countries. Unless otherwise stated, it seems that what happens elsewhere doesn’t bother you so much.

Actually no, as I said I acknowledge that Qatar has human rights abuses, and as an Australian I was totally opposed to our criminal involvement in that illegal war. It was one of the most shameful acts ever by the Australian government, and I believe Australia’s leaders at the time should have faced criminal charges over it.

Ok…then should other heads of state, like those in Russia, face criminal charges for what they have done? Judging by your posts, seem most offended by the West.

Uhhh, the old “if you don’t love it, leave” argument. Tired and non sensical nationalism. It would be hard to find a nation on the planet that has never participated in evil acts. Instead how about we aim to better our societies? If Australia had been awarded the 2022 World Cup I would have certainly attended matches and cheered on my favourite teams with gusto, without making a point about the human rights abuses committed by Australia.

Doesn’t mean I’m not appalled by Australia’s human rights abuses, like our participation in the illegal Iraq war or war crimes in Afghanistan, or our treatment of indigenous Australians or refugees or the capture of our government by fossil fuel interests.

It’s a fair question to ask considering the magnitude of the disdain you exhibit by anything done by the West and apparent disregard of everything else. One can only assume that you’d probably be happier in some of these dictatorships since you rarely comment on whatever transgressions they partake in.

I don’t need to get into a revolving argument with someone putting words and opinions into my posts. Just enjoy the football, from what I can see those on the ground in Qatar are having a great time. It’s going to be a great month.

All this whataboutism is ridiculous and, as always, an effort to divert attention from the obvious problem that is holding the WC in Qatar.

Qatar is far from the only nation to have issues with human rights and general behaviour against humanity, but as it so happens, they are hosting the World Cup.
They themselves demanded that the world's spotlights be turned on them and opened their doors to the entire planet.
What they do within the confines of their borders is their prerogative, but inviting the world for a bit of fun where fun is strictly restricted and policed will open them to criticism.

There is a degree of expectation of tolerance when holding such an event with the whole world in attendance. FIFA should never have awarded the WC to Qatar for that reason but then we all know how corrupt an organization they are. They still would have gotten certain guarantees from Qatar on the terms of the event the freedoms given to visitors, which they are now seemingly rescinding.

This is the issue, not whether any other country behaves the same or not.
We can discuss North Korea's track record when they host a World Cup... which, given FIFA's track record and obvious disdain for soccer fans, may not even be that far fetched.

sierrakilo44 wrote:

I think all this talk about beers and human rights will quickly subside once the football starts.

<snip>

Already looks like we’ll have some epic games lined up the the knockouts and the groups. Once they start being played I think all the talk of politics will be over.

Isn't it obvious to you that this is exactly the point? How convenient it is for any regime of any nation accused of anything to say, "don't worry and enjoy the football?"

You may perceive Qatar as getting more criticism simply because they're third or fourth in line to have done this now, after Saudi Arabia, Russia, and others. Any good PR man knows that advertising techniques have a shelf life.

Interestingly any WC applicant must also have a womens football team.
So Qatar founded one in 2009 and since they won the WC you can guess how many times they have played....

And about the FIFA - they are going to make an estimated €6.5 billion profit on the WC as they don't pay tax!!

https://youtu.be/vGvFTHOavhc

(might not work in some countries but English captions available - use a VPN for Germany)

Revelation wrote:

Gays to be publicly flogged

You'd be surprised at the amount of us who wouldn't object

par13del wrote:

One does have to wonder if the ancillary income from hosting these world events is actually worth it, I think in general the construction and fan attendance along with the sponsorships deals done do not balance out, as the host nation has to share with the governing bodies.

It's not done to generate income, it's being done to satisfy the egos of the rulers. Now the next time they're at a gathering of their peers, they can say, hey we hosted the World Cup, and even got them to move it to winter, what have you accomplished?

M564038 wrote:

Infantino read one of Putin’s speeches and thought his logic and debate technique was so great he had to adopt it. So Qatar has to do modern slavery, misogony and racism because of something someone living in europe did 3000 years ago. Got it!

DIRECTFLT wrote:

FIFA president blasts ‘hypocrisy’ of Western critics of World Cup host Qatar
...
He added: "For what we Europeans have been doing for the last 3,000 years we should apologise for the next 3,000 years before starting giving moral lessons to people."

Yep, he just insinuated his hosts are 3,000 years behind the times. He's off to a roaring start!

Braybuddy wrote:

Revelation wrote:

Gays to be publicly flogged

You'd be surprised at the amount of us who wouldn't object

Revelation wrote:

par13del wrote:

One does have to wonder if the ancillary income from hosting these world events is actually worth it, I think in general the construction and fan attendance along with the sponsorships deals done do not balance out, as the host nation has to share with the governing bodies.

It's not done to generate income, it's being done to satisfy the egos of the rulers. Now the next time they're at a gathering of their peers, they can say, hey we hosted the World Cup, and even got them to move it to winter, what have you accomplished?

M564038 wrote:

Infantino read one of Putin’s speeches and thought his logic and debate technique was so great he had to adopt it. So Qatar has to do modern slavery, misogony and racism because of something someone living in europe did 3000 years ago. Got it!

DIRECTFLT wrote:

FIFA president blasts ‘hypocrisy’ of Western critics of World Cup host Qatar
...
He added: "For what we Europeans have been doing for the last 3,000 years we should apologise for the next 3,000 years before starting giving moral lessons to people."

Yep, he just insinuated his hosts are 3,000 years behind the times. He's off to a roaring start!

Braybuddy wrote:

Revelation wrote:

Gays to be publicly flogged

You'd be surprised at the amount of us who wouldn't object

Fifa has insulted the hosts and the rest of the world all for 6 billion. This WC is going to be highly political.

Hopefully the matches are better than FIFA or the Hosts.

Ecuadorian fans start what will be the chant of the tournament "we want beer"

https://twitter.com/aschapire/status/15 ... MDGUA&s=19

sierrakilo44 wrote:

I don’t know if the posters here follow the YouTube channel “Thogden”.

https://youtu.be/TL4oS1r36Ms

He’s trying to set a world record by attending every single WC match. His video blogs of matches are always fun to watch, and very informative of showing the atmosphere at games and interviews with fans.

So if you want a real look at what’s happening on ground in Qatar and how the fans at stadiums and on the streets are thinking then I suggest watching his channel. So far he seems quite impressed with the atmosphere, even having (expensive) beers at an Irish pub in Doha...

Is he one of those "supporters" or "infuencers" who signed the contract with the Qatari whereby in exchange for free tickets and travel they are required to make positive vlogs and report those reacting negatively under their postings to the Qatari or is he doing this on his own?

BTW this is why this WC should never been organised by Qatar. They pay "supporters" and "influencers" to get a positive image and report those who give negative feedback. Which country needs to do this? Apparantly Qatar a they know they can't get a positive image without paying for it.To be honest, I would be very ashamed if my country would do this.Who ever came up with this did a lot of harm to Qatar.

ReverseFlow wrote:

Interestingly any WC applicant must also have a womens football team.

However, there will be female referees this WC.

BTW I hear people suggest that the host of the mens WC should host the womens WC as well two yeras later...... Can imagine that this would seriously reduce the appetite of Saudia Arabia to host the WC together with Greece and Egypt.

Now Bud will give the beer to the winners : https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... stReadNews

GDB wrote:

FIFA seems to have a liking for holding their events in nations with autocratic regimes, usually suits them fine, more scope for corruption for a start.

Apparently North Korea hosting a future World Cup is on the table.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sport ... d-Cup.html

"Gianni Infantino has admitted North Korea could host a World Cup in the future, as he looks to bring 'real change'.

The FIFA president - who is set to be re-elected for a third term - revealed that any nation is eligible to host an event, adding that his organization wants to help unite the world.

The Swiss-born president also admitted to visiting North Korea in the past in an attempt to gauge whether the nation would be open to co-hosting a Women's tournament alongside their neighbors South Korea."

mke717spotter wrote:

GDB wrote:

FIFA seems to have a liking for holding their events in nations with autocratic regimes, usually suits them fine, more scope for corruption for a start.

Apparently North Korea hosting a future World Cup is on the table.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sport ... d-Cup.html

Well everyone knows North Korea is North Korea, Qatar is definitely not in the news as much. And at least NK has beer! Hell, even with Putin's bribes, Russia still made a hell of a lot more sense as a WC host than Qatar ever would.

On the beer thing:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRQqxKJa/

Aesma wrote:

Now Bud will give the beer to the winners : https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... stReadNews

I assumed Qatar implemented the ban purely to protect people's tastebuds from Bud?

Well we learned a couple of things from the opening match. First is that the Qatari team is an absolute joke; not a single shot or corner kick after 95 minutes of playing. They have a goal keeper who shouldn’t be let anywhere near a football pitch, and it's all backed by supporters who left in droves during the half-time and the second half - the stadium was almost half empty when the match finished - when it turned out that the Qatari side will be the joke of the tournament.

We also learned that math and logical thinking may not be the strongest side of the organisers - the stadium speaker said 67K people were in attendance, which is quite an achievement for a stadium with a 60K capacity which was far from being full.

B777LRF wrote:

Well we learned a couple of things from the opening match. First is that the Qatari team is an absolute joke; not a single shot or corner kick after 95 minutes of playing. They have a goal keeper who shouldn’t be let anywhere near a football pitch, and it's all backed by supporters who left in droves during the half-time and the second half - the stadium was almost half empty when the match finished - when it turned out that the Qatari side will be the joke of the tournament.

We also learned that math and logical thinking may not be the strongest side of the organisers - the stadium speaker said 67K people were in attendance, which is quite an achievement for a stadium with a 60K capacity which was far from being full.

TBH I doubt anyone with any knowledge of the sport thought that Qatar's team was going to be any good.
I'm surprised they even managed to assemble a national team in the first place.
It's hardly surprising given the diminutive scale if the nation and local football scene and whatever they can muster will hardly do more than just show up and tick the box...

Qatar knew it and brought this on themselves.
As For FIFA, they should be ashamed for setting up a WC in a country that has virtually no football culture but then again even if they knew what shame was they were too busy shoveling the bribe money into their offshore accounts to bother with such minor details.

B777LRF wrote:

Well we learned a couple of things from the opening match. First is that the Qatari team is an absolute joke; not a single shot or corner kick after 95 minutes of playing. They have a goal keeper who shouldn’t be let anywhere near a football pitch, and it's all backed by supporters who left in droves during the half-time and the second half - the stadium was almost half empty when the match finished - when it turned out that the Qatari side will be the joke of the tournament.

We also learned that math and logical thinking may not be the strongest side of the organisers - the stadium speaker said 67K people were in attendance, which is quite an achievement for a stadium with a 60K capacity which was far from being full.

That's what happens when you chose a country with zero football heritage as host. Qatar has almost zero sporting heritage and almost none of its athletes or sportspeople are natives - they've all been paid to represent Qatar.

Iran's captain takes the opportunity to express support for anti-government protestors in Iran. Credit to him.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/irans-world- ... overnment/

Iran's World Cup captain has said the national team "support" those who have died in anti-government protests ahead of their opening game of the tournament.

Football star Ehsan Hajsafi made the comments at a press conference, ahead of the nation's first match against England, which is set to take place on Monday

Describing his fellow Iranians as "brave", the 32-year-old the AEK Athens player said: "We have to accept that the conditions in our country are not right and our people are not happy", describing the situation as "not good".

Qatar won't like this, FIFA even less but they hate us anyway;
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -criticism

As did others, however one did not;
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -criticism

Interestingly though, Qatar are actually reigning Asian Champions..

https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/afc ... C2%A0.html

Francoflier wrote:

B777LRF wrote:

Well we learned a couple of things from the opening match. First is that the Qatari team is an absolute joke; not a single shot or corner kick after 95 minutes of playing. They have a goal keeper who shouldn’t be let anywhere near a football pitch, and it's all backed by supporters who left in droves during the half-time and the second half - the stadium was almost half empty when the match finished - when it turned out that the Qatari side will be the joke of the tournament.

We also learned that math and logical thinking may not be the strongest side of the organisers - the stadium speaker said 67K people were in attendance, which is quite an achievement for a stadium with a 60K capacity which was far from being full.

TBH I doubt anyone with any knowledge of the sport thought that Qatar's team was going to be any good.
I'm surprised they even managed to assemble a national team in the first place.
It's hardly surprising given the diminutive scale if the nation and local football scene and whatever they can muster will hardly do more than just show up and tick the box...

Qatar knew it and brought this on themselves.
As For FIFA, they should be ashamed for setting up a WC in a country that has virtually no football culture but then again even if they knew what shame was they were too busy shoveling the bribe money into their offshore accounts to bother with such minor details.

Clearly no WC should go to a country that never qualified for a WC...

In a spectacular collapse of principles, England and Wales (among other nations) will not wear the "One Love" armbands in support of LBGTQ+ after FIFA threaten sanctions against teams or individual players.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/60975930

'We have asked the captains not to wear the armbands'
A joint statement from the Football Associations of England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland about the One Love armband: "Fifa has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play. As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in Fifa World Cup games.

"We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. However, we cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.

"We are very frustrated by the Fifa decision which we believe is unprecedented – we wrote to Fifa in September informing them of our wish to wear the One Love armband to actively support inclusion in football, and had no response. Our players and coaches are disappointed – they are strong supporters of inclusion and will show support in other ways."

I really can't support the teams for taking this approach. It appears it's OK to have principles and show support, but only until someone threatens you with some inconvenience. FIFA has shown their true colours here. Infantino has shown he's no different to previous corrupt heads of FIFA. I am ashamed of them and saddened that the English FA has bowed to this pressure.

scbriml wrote:

In a spectacular collapse of principles, England and Wales (among other nations) will not wear the "One Love" armbands in support of LBGTQ+ after FIFA threaten sanctions against teams or individual players.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/60975930

'We have asked the captains not to wear the armbands'
A joint statement from the Football Associations of England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland about the One Love armband: "Fifa has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play. As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in Fifa World Cup games.

"We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. However, we cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.

"We are very frustrated by the Fifa decision which we believe is unprecedented – we wrote to Fifa in September informing them of our wish to wear the One Love armband to actively support inclusion in football, and had no response. Our players and coaches are disappointed – they are strong supporters of inclusion and will show support in other ways."

I really can't support the teams for taking this approach. It appears it's OK to have principles and show support, but only until someone threatens you with some inconvenience. FIFA has shown their true colours here. Infantino has shown he's no different to previous corrupt heads of FIFA. I am ashamed of them and saddened that the English FA has bowed to this pressure.

What does FA really stand for? Well the second word is 'All'.

scbriml wrote:

In a spectacular collapse of principles, England and Wales (among other nations) will not wear the "One Love" armbands in support of LBGTQ+ after FIFA threaten sanctions against teams or individual players.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/60975930

'We have asked the captains not to wear the armbands'
A joint statement from the Football Associations of England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland about the One Love armband: "Fifa has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play. As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in Fifa World Cup games.

"We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. However, we cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.

"We are very frustrated by the Fifa decision which we believe is unprecedented – we wrote to Fifa in September informing them of our wish to wear the One Love armband to actively support inclusion in football, and had no response. Our players and coaches are disappointed – they are strong supporters of inclusion and will show support in other ways."

I really can't support the teams for taking this approach. It appears it's OK to have principles and show support, but only until someone threatens you with some inconvenience. FIFA has shown their true colours here. Infantino has shown he's no different to previous corrupt heads of FIFA. I am ashamed of them and saddened that the English FA has bowed to this pressure.

The teams are trying to protect their players. FIFA, in their infinite immorality and tireless defense of the indefensible, knew that the teams would potentially take the heat and absorb the fines, so they threatened the players and their careers directly so that the teams would have no choice but to protect them... it's called coercion I believe.

It's really no wonder FIFA gets along with authoritarian and despotic governments like a house on fire.

I wonder what would happen if a player had his hair coloured in a rainbow flag?

From what I understand from the armband it would have been a yellow card? Or would they also have been forced off the pitch to change it?

You miss a game for two yellow cards so as they have 3 goalies they could rotate a bit......

Only 235.000 norwegians watched the opening match on television. This is compared to 835.000 watching the opening match of the 2014 WC.
Source:
https://www.finansavisen.no/nyheter/liv ... ott=skEpIa

https://www.aftenposten.no/norge/i/mBKe ... ntry=64768

ReverseFlow wrote:

I wonder what would happen if a player had his hair coloured in a rainbow flag?

I’m hoping this happens. I thought about a tattoo but your option seems more reasonable…

Fred


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

At the same time there is no armband or other sign to show support for the hundreds of thousands of slaves that Qatar "employs".

Aesma wrote:

Clearly no WC should go to a country that never qualified for a WC...

How many host who automatically qualified have won the WC, google search gives the below...home field is not too big of a thing...how would qualification work years in advance when
construction of facilities are required? Better to be like the Olympics of old and host in the same place.

Uruguay in 1930, Italy in 1934, England in 1966, West Germany in 1974, Argentina in 1978 and France in 1998 are the countries which organized an edition of the World Cup and won it.

The whole thing is an expensive farce, but what spectator sport isn’t?

GDB wrote:

Qatar won't like this, FIFA even less but they hate us anyway;
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -criticism

As did others, however one did not;
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -criticism

From the BBC:

Viewers in other countries saw Jung Kook, one of the most famous singers in the world, perform his new song – sample inspirational lyric

One of the most famous? Never knew of this person until now.

I’m not watching the world cup - not interested. I’m far more interested in trying to get my own fitness back again.

As reported on ITV’s live coverage of Wales vs USA, fans had rainbow hats confiscated on the basis they were “banned symbols”. What are Qatar and FIFA so scared of? Does the mere sight of a rainbow turn Qatari’s gay?

Love the sport, hate the organization behind it. Shame that such a great event has to be overshadowed by FIFA's constant corruption.

scbriml wrote:

As reported on ITV’s live coverage of Wales vs USA, fans had rainbow hats confiscated on the basis they were “banned symbols”. What are Qatar and FIFA so scared of? Does the mere sight of a rainbow turn Qatari’s gay?

Ha ha . . . looks like we've completely ruined rainbows

Braybuddy wrote:

scbriml wrote:

As reported on ITV’s live coverage of Wales vs USA, fans had rainbow hats confiscated on the basis they were “banned symbols”. What are Qatar and FIFA so scared of? Does the mere sight of a rainbow turn Qatari’s gay?

Ha ha . . . looks like we've completely ruined rainbows

Either that, or they learned about rainbows from South Park:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K7NBDweRzw

meecrob wrote:

Either that, or they learned about rainbows from South Park:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K7NBDweRzw

I kind-of know the feeling

Thing is, in most Middle Eastern countries, women are so controlled, and unavailable, that it's not unusual for men to have sex with each other. It's not homosexuality, though . . .

Aesma wrote:

Francoflier wrote:

Clearly no WC should go to a country that never qualified for a WC...

Well, in 1988 the US was selected to host the 1994 event and that was before they had qualified for 1990. Prior to that they hadn't featured in a World Cup since 1950. In fact, the US didn't even have a professional league at the time.