![]() This is a tournament, a formidable weight of evidence suggests, where the selection process for the hosts was won dishonestly, although Qatar has always refuted that. It is supposed to be a celebration of international football but it is so sullied and so misshapen it can only hasten international football’s demise. This World Cup has ruined a whole host of reputations before it has even started. He could have pointed at David Beckham, who is being paid to be one of the faces of the tournament. Klopp could have blamed David Beckham, who is one of the faces of the tournament He could also have pointed at Pep Guardiola, who was an ambassador for the Qatari World Cup bid. Jurgen Klopp pointed the finger, incorrectly, at journalists for not doing more. It is happening now and the fact that it is happening shames us all. In fact, it is wrong on so many different levels that the fact it happened will be a stain on the game for decades to come. It is wrong that the tournament is being played here. Politics has invaded sport and this World Cup is the most egregious example of its incursion so far. We have got to a point that when Saudi Arabia run out to play Argentina next week, some will ask why they are playing in Newcastle’s third kit. We live in a time when states use football to try to disguise injustice. We live in a time when Middle Eastern states own some of the world’s leading football clubs. ![]() But the time when football and politics could be separated died a long time ago. They want to forget the injustice and escape from the realities of politics, which is what football should be. Enough, too, of the fun police trying to tell local fans that they are fake just because they don’t show their love of football in quite the same way we do.Ī lot of people just want to get on with the football now. It has been beautiful hearing the call to prayer drift over the England training ground in the late afternoon every day.Īnd the fuss about there being no alcohol available at the stadiums reflects on us, not the Qataris, even if the lateness of the change of heart is puzzling. ![]() Countries like Egypt, Morocco and Algeria are hotbeds of football. It is right that the Arab world finally has a World Cup. The city looks beautiful at night, minarets illuminated against the night sky and the tower blocks of West Bay shimmering and glittering in the near distance. I walked through Souq Waqif in the centre of Doha on Friday night and saw people dancing through the narrow streets and fans from Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Brazil and Qatar growing intoxicated together on the excitement of the approaching tournament. It does not change the fact that the World Cup should not be being played here. ![]() Imagine the excitement if England end the 56 years of hurt. Imagine if the ridiculously precocious Jude Bellingham takes the tournament by storm. Southgate’s side have not been in good form coming into the tournament but imagine if they get their mojo back. Imagine if England can go one better than they did in Russia four years ago and get to the final. Gareth Southgate could take England to their first World Cup glory since 1966, but it would still not change the fact that the tournament should not be being played in Qatar Infantino’s 57-minute speech yesterday felt like the human version of a fighter jet spraying out chaff, trying to deflect the fire heading his way. I would feel scared because Qatar just reversed its decision to allow people to drink alcohol at matches at this tournament so what if it reverses its (unspoken) policy on tolerating gay football fans? It was less than a fortnight ago, after all, when Qatar’s World Cup ambassador described being gay as ‘damage in the mind’. I would feel uneasy because, whatever empty assurances Infantino wishes to provide, this World Cup is being staged in a country that criminalises same-sex relationships and that makes it an uncomfortable place to visit. But if I were gay and I was coming to Doha for the World Cup, I think I would feel uneasy and I think I would feel scared. I do not feel disabled and I do not know what it is like to face the barriers in everyday life that disabled people face.Īnd today I do not ‘feel’ gay, a gift Infantino claims to be able to possess, and I do not know what it is like to face the prejudice in everyday life that many gay people face. I feel like someone staying in a hotel built by migrant workers. A couple more things: today I do not feel like a migrant worker. ![]()
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