Some good news coming in.
German legend Philipp Lahm (captain of the world cup winning team of 2014) has stated that he will boycott Qatar 2022.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-11095127/Philipp-Lahm-plans-BOYCOTT-World-Cup-Qatar.htmlI am happy that at least some of the footballers view human rights as more valuable then all the money power which Qatar can offer. The human rights issue was swept under the carpet when FIFA awarded Qatar hosting rights for the world cup in 2010. But now more and more players are speaking against this issue. And also, it is reported that hotels in Qatar are refusing to accept room reservations for LQBTQ couples. When Gareth Southgate spoke against this, Nasser Al Khater tried to intimidate him.
It's a shame that a wonderful sport like football, in its greatest competition, is going to be filled with controversies outside of the field.
It's such a strange place to host the world cup, we'll see how it goes, but it already has a lot of controversies happening, and it's not even started yet.
Hopefully the focus is on the matches and not on the events happening outside of the field.
This is nothing new when it comes to football. Weren't the former heads of FIFA and UEFA, Platini and Blatter, in prison on charges of corruption.
Many independent journalists and investigators have already repeatedly accused FIFA and UEFA of corruption, especially in connection with the awarding of the hosting of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and 2022 to Qatar.
Football has long passed from the romantic phase to the money-making phase.
First the money, then the football game and the fans come next
Unfortunately, there is corruption in every different area all over the world. Even the simplest work is bribed. This has become a kind of law of the world. As such, it is inevitable that there will be corruption in the world of football, where very big money is used. But after the tournament starts, everything will be forgotten. Football fans all over the world will start watching the matches and will watch the matches with excitement, waiting for the champion. I hope that Qatar can handle this burden with the least problems as much as possible.
Yes, unfortunately, that is true. When the World Cup starts, everything else is forgotten and only football becomes important.
It is obviously very difficult to fight corruption in football and try to prevent it.
We can only hope that the World Cup will meet the expectations of the fans and that we will watch exciting and high-quality football matches.
The World Cup is being held at a very unusual time, for the first time in history in the middle of the club season, and the question is how it will affect football players and their game.
@Daniel91 I believe that the media will try to paint a nice picture of Qatar, but on social media we’ll be seeing many complaints and I sincerely hope that the player’s don’t get distracted by these event’s.
I'm pretty sure we will hear a few stories of people in jail or similar for drinking in this world cup. And that will occur all the time, between matches, which I'm sure will distract a bit from the game itself.
In Qatar, alcohol is available only from licensed hotel restaurants and bars. But fans need to remember that being drunk in public is considered as a criminal offense in Qatar. So having one or two drinks may be OK, but anything more than that will land some of the unruly fans in one of the notorious prisons in the middle east. Smuggling alcohol from outside is also considered as a criminal offense. And as far as I know, none of these rules have been relaxed ahead of the world cup. And those who try their luck with smuggling weed or cocaine will face beheading, as Qatar has the death sentence in place for drug smuggling.
@Sithara007 I really hope that fan’s do not break any law there, because then it’ll a nightmare for them to escape from Qatar and lastly I hope that FIFA will run ads and educate fans on why they should strictly follow the rules there.
