It’s all about the brown envelopes for FIFA
Marca and other sports websites saying the Qataris have bribed 8 Ecuadorians $7.4 million to lose the game 1-0 with the goal scored in the 2nd half.
FIFA and the Qataris are a match made in heaven.
It’s all about the brown envelopes for FIFA
Cannot lie, but there is a part of me that would rather enjoy if every player refused to kick the ball. Just leaving it in play and untouched for the full 90 minutes to celebrate the farce this event is.
Perhaps a little prediction competition will kindle some enthusiasm - an old colleague has been running this for years, has now even gone to the trouble of building a website; maybe not marklondon standard, but entirely kosher. Entry fee is £6, with £1 of that going to charity. More the merrier:
https://sytykf.com/
I would of been really impressed if our FA, players, manager, staff, journalists, TV presenters etc had said "On this occasion we will give it a miss" but money (look at LIV golf), ego talks.
I usually enjoy the World Cup but will be giving this one a miss.
Players must be under massive pressure to play, refuse, and will you be picked again?
But I wonder if in twenty or so years time when the current players young kids (or kids soon to be born) are young people, how will the players feel when those kids ask them how they could have been a part of supporting that despicable regime?
The Italy squad, waiting to board the plane to Qatar
Did I once read somewhere that the managers, officials etc etc often get a goody bag with watches and stuff in them worth 1000s at World Cups and the likes ? if so I reckon that could be one reason they are happy to get on the plane
Whilst I won't be watching it, just a reminder for those that will be.
Qatar is 3 hours ahead, and 800 years behind.
Last edited by Chris_in_the_UK; 18th November 2022 at 18:49.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
All these human rights abuses is exactly why Brits never go on holiday or move for work to Middle East countries. And why football clubs never take their squad for mid season breaks to Dubai for example.
Oh hang on a minute.
Lots of hypocrisy and virtue signalling going about.
Just reading the WC thread on Pistonheads a guy whose wife lives in Qatar and works as air crew for Qatar Airways, she was called for standby yesterday morning usually 2 full crews 30 staff are the norm when she got there 300 staff were there,enough for 20 flights, all were stood down as there were insufficient passengers for the flights.
Bring it on, England for the win. Fodens time to shine.
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I've lost interest in football in general since the pandemic, and couldn't give a stuff about the world cup.
Previous ones are always linked to halcyon summers and iconic times.
Winter feels the wrong time, and the run up seems shady. I'm disappointed in my apathy as a Welshman, that we have qualified for the least captivating tournament in my memory.
I’m looking forward to it. The time of year or venue doesn’t matter to me.
I’ll be cheering on any team sans arm bands.
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It’s funny how just one sentence can reveal so much about a person.
If it's good enough for our King...................
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...th%20groceries.
I mentioned some of the above to my wife as I feel reasonably strongly about it.
Her response and knowing i'm not greatly into football anyway was.
"So if a Qatar government representative was to approach you and offer an all expenses 5* paid trip to the Cup with tickets to all the important games and deposit £100K in your bank tax free and all you had to do was be interviewed a couple of times as a representative of an ordinary fan you would turn it down ?"
Not going to happen but...................
Make sure your righteous indignation extends to ensuring you don't avail of cheap flights on Qatar, Emirates, Etihad etc. BA I'm sure could do with the money and I'm sure out of principle those criticising Qatar have always boycotted those airlines.
Now that the president of FIFA has told us he knows exactly how a migrant worker feels , because he had red hair and freckles, I feel it’s safe to let folk know you are watching again .
For me, lets use football for leverage and modernise the host. Well that went well.
His speech was something else:
"For what we [Europeans and the Western world] have been doing for 3,000 years around the world, we should be apologising for the next 3,000 years before giving moral lessons."
Except, this is now very much the modern age and trying to justify the sins of an appalling regime based on the historical sins of the past is sophistry in the extreme.
What a cretin, desperately trying to rescue the tatters of his organisation's reputation.
Slam dunk for me. I wasn't going to watch it anyway and Infantino just confirmed my decision in spades.
World cup in Russia was totally off-putting already and I barely watched a game, but for this one I had hope that common sense would prevail and that it would be canned before it started. I gave up on that hope about a year ago.
Not planning to watch any, and that will be a first. I hope Qatar wins it.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
Beckham is supposedly a gay icon. Yet he's taking £150m from the Quataris in an ambassadorial role. *chortle*
Lineker probably fancies dipping his bread in that gravy in a few years.
As for Infantilo. Just another bent FIFA boss in a long line of 'em.
And after today's diatribe, more front than Selfridge's.
These people are garbage.
Nothing more to say on the subject.
David
Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations
Today I feel Qatari,” he said. “Today I feel Arabic. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel [like] a migrant worker.”
He added: “Of course I am not Qatari, I am not an Arab, I am not African, I am not gay, I am not disabled. But I feel like it, because I know what it means to be discriminated [against], to be bullied, as a foreigner in a foreign country. As a child I was bullied – because I had red hair and freckles, plus I was Italian, so imagine.
https://www.theguardian.com/football...orld-cup-qatar
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.