https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... ifa-u-turn

There is a huge sponsorship of Bud to FIFA for the WC, Qatar has been saying for years it would be fine, and then they u-turn.

I'm not a Qatar hater, not because I love them but because I don't see why I should hate on them more than on say Saudi Arabia. With that said they need to spend more on western advisors...

They are not allowing the sale of beer at the match venues. Sales will be limited to existing licensed businesses and a 'fan zone'. Maybe that is a good thing so don't have drunks in the stands being stupid.

Something tells me this was premeditated.
They waited until most visitors and fans had booked their stay and until it was too late for anyone to cancel their booking without penalty to then dial the sharia and stone age back to 11.

I doubt anybody still thought holding the WC in Qatar was a good idea (apart from the bribe recipients), so I won't feel too bad for those who still decided to go despite the clear signals.

ltbewr wrote:

They are not allowing the sale of beer at the match venues. Sales will be limited to existing licensed businesses and a 'fan zone'. Maybe that is a good thing so don't have drunks in the stands being stupid.

I heard they will still serve alcohol in the luxury boxes? Got to tell you this whole thing has been a nightmare letting Qatar host the WC.

Francoflier wrote:

Something tells me this was premeditated.
They waited until most visitors and fans had booked their stay and until it was too late for anyone to cancel their booking without penalty to then dial the sharia and stone age back to 11.

I doubt anybody still thought holding the WC in Qatar was a good idea (apart from the bribe recipients), so I won't feel too bad for those who still decided to go despite the clear signals.

I have zero doubt that this was the plan all along and that it was very much a conscious decision to only announce it on the eve of the tournament.

When I worked in Dubai I attended the World Rugby Sevens. Alcohol was available inside the stadium, including beer that was only sold in six-packs. At the end of the day, as folks left the stadium, all unconsumed alcohol was confiscated. There were people literally chugging two or three cans of expensive beer rather than just hand it over.

scbriml wrote:

Francoflier wrote:

Something tells me this was premeditated.
They waited until most visitors and fans had booked their stay and until it was too late for anyone to cancel their booking without penalty to then dial the sharia and stone age back to 11.

I doubt anybody still thought holding the WC in Qatar was a good idea (apart from the bribe recipients), so I won't feel too bad for those who still decided to go despite the clear signals.

I have zero doubt that this was the plan all along and that it was very much a conscious decision to only announce it on the eve of the tournament.

When I worked in Dubai I attended the World Rugby Sevens. Alcohol was available inside the stadium, including beer that was only sold in six-packs. At the end of the day, as folks left the stadium, all unconsumed alcohol was confiscated. There were people literally chugging two or three cans of expensive beer rather than just hand it over.

Question is why were the western investors / fans and everyone else so convinced that a region that has oil and that has always played to the beat of their own drums would suddenly change its spots? The beer company tweet was a classic - ...awkward, really?
I agree this was all premeditated, once in country, how many fans are going to have principles and leave, I am guessing less than a thousand if that much.
Let's see how many get arrested and have to spend time in jail before getting deported, maybe now they will have sympathy for others who have been caught up before and they said they should not have travelled, etc etc etc.
Would be good to see matches on TV where the excitement and joy displayed in the stands is not chemically induced......

scbriml wrote:

When I worked in Dubai I attended the World Rugby Sevens. Alcohol was available inside the stadium, including beer that was only sold in six-packs. At the end of the day, as folks left the stadium, all unconsumed alcohol was confiscated. There were people literally chugging two or three cans of expensive beer rather than just hand it over.

Sell beer in only six-packs and expect people to behave and threaten to confiscate it if its unused. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Signed,

Nations who drink.

par13del wrote:

I agree this was all premeditated, once in country, how many fans are going to have principles and leave, I am guessing less than a thousand if that much.

Don't most fans fly in and out for a specific game? I doubt many fans will be there already today.
Not many will be going anyway.

par13del wrote:

Would be good to see matches on TV where the excitement and joy displayed in the stands is not chemically induced......

More interesting for the first time in history there'll be a crowd that gets paid to be in the arena. Wonder if they'll sing the right songs. Not very hopefull, looking at the videos that already came out.
And those who want to be drunk during the game, they will be drunk. It doesn't matter much if it's available in and around the arena.

Cool and what's next? A few half time stonings and whippings to entertain the crowd?

I really hope this event goes down in flames with public drinking, urinating, hooligan fights and widespread riots... but to be honest, for this to happen they would need fans there and not paid Pakistani that probably thought they can go to attend a Cricket game.

I can't wait for all the tourism arrests for hand holding, kissing in publc, and other general infractions. If Qatar is changing their mind on Beer, will they be changing their mind on the rights of human visitors?

FIFA really did a giant disservice to the world here.

David Squires has done a special series on this, here's the latest;
https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng ... hen-are-we

Few places more annoying than these faux-modern Gulf states.

Aaron747 wrote:

Few places more annoying than these faux-modern Gulf states.

Wait until some of these unsuspecting and naive WC visitors get caught smoking a joint or kissing a same-sex partner in public... I have a feeling that football/soccer will be taking second stage in Qatar during the event.

casinterest wrote:

I can't wait for all the tourism arrests for hand holding, kissing in publc, and other general infractions. If Qatar is changing their mind on Beer, will they be changing their mind on the rights of human visitors?

FIFA really did a giant disservice to the world here.

The English soccer hooligans are ready to go!!

StarAC17 wrote:

casinterest wrote:

I can't wait for all the tourism arrests for hand holding, kissing in publc, and other general infractions. If Qatar is changing their mind on Beer, will they be changing their mind on the rights of human visitors?

FIFA really did a giant disservice to the world here.

The English soccer hooligans are ready to go!!

Might consider keeping up, far worse and much more organized ones elsewhere;
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... ball-ultra

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_hooliganism

StarAC17 wrote:

casinterest wrote:

I can't wait for all the tourism arrests for hand holding, kissing in publc, and other general infractions. If Qatar is changing their mind on Beer, will they be changing their mind on the rights of human visitors?

FIFA really did a giant disservice to the world here.

The English soccer hooligans are ready to go!!

Will the jails be large enough to hold them all for Public intoxication?

I'm really looking forward to a disaster of a World Cup. It will remind people why bribery typically leads to bad outcomes. Once in a while, the consequences of corruption need to be demonstrated publicly

Francoflier wrote:

Something tells me this was premeditated.
They waited until most visitors and fans had booked their stay and until it was too late for anyone to cancel their booking without penalty to then dial the sharia and stone age back to 11.

I doubt anybody still thought holding the WC in Qatar was a good idea (apart from the bribe recipients), so I won't feel too bad for those who still decided to go despite the clear signals.

I have a hard time believing anyone would have based the decision on whether to got or not on the ability to buy a beer at the game.

ER757 wrote:

Francoflier wrote:

Something tells me this was premeditated.
They waited until most visitors and fans had booked their stay and until it was too late for anyone to cancel their booking without penalty to then dial the sharia and stone age back to 11.

I doubt anybody still thought holding the WC in Qatar was a good idea (apart from the bribe recipients), so I won't feel too bad for those who still decided to go despite the clear signals.

I have a hard time believing anyone would have based the decision on whether to got or not on the ability to buy a beer at the game.

Some people have precocieved notions about their trips, and especially the downtime in between games. Alcohol may not be a deal breaker, but it could be the strraw that breaks someone if other things are going wrong, like living in a shipping container.

ER757 wrote:

Francoflier wrote:

Something tells me this was premeditated.
They waited until most visitors and fans had booked their stay and until it was too late for anyone to cancel their booking without penalty to then dial the sharia and stone age back to 11.

I doubt anybody still thought holding the WC in Qatar was a good idea (apart from the bribe recipients), so I won't feel too bad for those who still decided to go despite the clear signals.

I have a hard time believing anyone would have based the decision on whether to got or not on the ability to buy a beer at the game.

I’m sure the availability of beer at the venues in a Muslim country was a deciding factor for some fans. The real issue is that FIFA promised something, then withdrew it literally on the eve of the tournament.

Meh, nothing to do with Sharia, they're saving thousands of fans from the swill Budweiser calls beer.

StarAC17 wrote:

The English soccer hooligans are ready to go!!

Oh please, you're about 25 years out of touch.

ChrisKen wrote:

Meh, nothing to do with Sharia, they're saving thousands of fans from the swill Budweiser calls beer.

StarAC17 wrote:

The English soccer hooligans are ready to go!!

Oh please, you're about 25 years out of touch.

How do you post the first statement and then follow it up with one that defines your attitude over Bud.

They now own so many brands that you probably drink not knowing it is inbev.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AB_InBev_brands

Be interesting to watch FIFA trying not to repay Bud for breach of contract.

It's their country and their rules. I would take no issue with it if they made it clear at the start and I am sure many others would feel the same. I do think they should have been upfront from the start though. This now looks like it's going to be one massive PR mess both for FIFA and Qatar. Let's not forget, The World Cup was moved to accommodate for a more moderate climate which has created tensions.

You can almost predict the total culture shock that is about to happen. Not your average holiday makers visiting but loads of rowdy fans on holiday wanting to be vibing with others, drinks, footie whilst in the background they've got the Qatari Police watching their every move. The Police won't have seen anything like it before and nor will those visiting the Country. I hope it doesn't kick off big time and the games are a success.

FluidFlow wrote:

Cool and what's next? A few half time stonings and whippings to entertain the crowd?

Women to be turned away at the gates of the venue.

Gays to be publicly flogged and stoned.

Btblue wrote:

It's their country and their rules.

True. That is what happens when a country that has 7th century thinking, gets to host the World Cup.

ER757 wrote:

Francoflier wrote:

Something tells me this was premeditated.
They waited until most visitors and fans had booked their stay and until it was too late for anyone to cancel their booking without penalty to then dial the sharia and stone age back to 11.

I doubt anybody still thought holding the WC in Qatar was a good idea (apart from the bribe recipients), so I won't feel too bad for those who still decided to go despite the clear signals.

I have a hard time believing anyone would have based the decision on whether to got or not on the ability to buy a beer at the game.

Well there is also the little issue that caused it to be moved from summer to autumn.

That clearly wasn't part of the plan.

Lest we forget the US was runner-up in the bidding to host the 2022 World Cup.

mke717spotter wrote:

Lest we forget the US was runner-up in the bidding to host the 2022 World Cup.

Obviously, their brown envelope wasn't as large as Qatar's!

I'm not much of a soccer fan. But, I have found that where beer was sold, at any other sporting event, that it was not a plus to the overall experience for me...

I don't think it's the case of not having alcohol in the stadiums (well the VIPs can still have it) but that it was a 180 turn just two days before the games start.

Also this about face

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -cancelled

Sort of puts into question if you can trust promises made (or were there even contracts?) by the Qataris.

Or perhaps they needed that money for Beckhams £150 million.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -tolerance

PhilBy wrote:

Be interesting to watch FIFA trying not to repay Bud for breach of contract.

I think both FIFA and Budweiser had a contingency plan in place in the event Qatar decided to show its true colors. FIFA probably discussed this possibility with Budweiser and how they would compensate Budweiser at a future event in a more beer friendly nation.

ReverseFlow wrote:

I don't think it's the case of not having alcohol in the stadiums (well the VIPs can still have it) but that it was a 180 turn just two days before the games start.

Also this about face

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -cancelled

Sort of puts into question if you can trust promises made (or were there even contracts?) by the Qataris.

Or perhaps they needed that money for Beckhams £150 million.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -tolerance

He’s isn’t the brightest, including not seeing what a reputation shredding businesses he’s got himself into with this.
He was there when FIFA were being FIFA by ‘awarding’ this tournament to the most absurd choice.

The corruption goes even deeper than you might think, even by FIFA's bottomless pit standards;
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -in-itself

And a necessarily even more acidic view;
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... olor-qatar

As for the beer brand, there is an old joke about that.

So is the head of FIFA implying 2 wrongs make a right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9lymfZc64w

af773atmsp wrote:

So is the head of FIFA implying 2 wrongs make a right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9lymfZc64w

It’s certainly not a great look for him. He’s feeling the pressure.

af773atmsp wrote:

So is the head of FIFA implying 2 wrongs make a right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9lymfZc64w

...or moral equivalence, all part of the political correctness culture. Millions of dollars have already been spent by Qatar and received (let's not forget that) by countless companies all over the world during the construction phase, now we are at the phase where others are expecting to cash in.....

I hope the whole thing is a complete disaster for Qatar and FIFA. They deserve nothing more.

Seems making U-turn decisions is a national pastime in Qatar. Maybe U-turn Al has a lot of cousins…

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.

par13del wrote:

Millions of dollars have already been spent by Qatar

Millions? Original estimates were that the total cost would be $220 billion.
https://web.archive.org/web/20131005003 ... -does-that

In fairness, it should be pointed out that the figure did originally include the crazy concept of fully air-conditioned stadia were the tournament to be played at the height of summer. That idea was thrown out fairly early in the process, but there's no doubt the huge cost to Qatar will never be recovered.

or the huge bribes.

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

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.

That's not really the topic at hand. Qatar knew what the World Cup entailed before they placed their bid (and prepared the brown envelopes). A beer company has been a major sponsor since forever and Qatar made assurances that this would be accommodated.

Many people are short on cash right now and made the big decision to invest in a trip to the cup, possibly their only trip for some time. Part of that decision might have included the ability to relax with a cold beer. At the 10th hour, Qatar asked Budweiser to make their beer tents less visible, and then at the 11th hour they come close to a total ban for most fans.

Negative, positive or neutral, that is (I'm led to believe) all fact. Qatar are bringing all this crap on themselves with what, at least looking in from the outside, seems to have been their plan all along - to basically lie to people and come out with what they always planned so late in the day that people can't change plans without losing money.

I'll watch my national team's games, but apart from that the I'll probably not celebrate it as the showpiece of both football and a hosting nation that it is supposed to be.

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.

This will probably a self check, just like with the Olympics. Forget future exotic locations.

By the way, how much are they going to charge for a bottle of water when its 1000 Celsius over there????

SRQLOT wrote:

This will probably a self check, just like with the Olympics. Forget future exotic locations.

By the way, how much are they going to charge for a bottle of water when its 1000 Celsius over there????

Daytime highs in Doha are only just hitting 30C. Summer World Cups have been played in higher temps.

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.
What happens though when that is tinged with Sharia Law and in a nation not known for it's footballing heritage?
https://www.theguardian.com/football/bl ... ts-critics

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."

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."