Photo: AP Photo/Nariman El-MoftyWill those who claim that they will not watch the matches on television to protest the violation of human rights in Qatar, turn off the heating, because it is very likely that they are heated with gas from Qatar, which has become one of the most important suppliers of this energy to Europe since imposed sanctions on Russia
The ball has started rolling, and for the next month neither the war in Ukraine nor all other wars, nor the economic crisis, nor the eventual fall of a big meteor will attract more attention than football.
The first goal at the World Cup was scored by Ecuador's national team member Valencia when he shook the home team's net in the sixteenth minute of the match, and thus not only put his national team in the lead, but also broke at least one of the "Qatari controversies". Namely, news from "verified sources" has been circulating for days that Qatar paid huge millions of dollars to Ecuador's players to lose the game and that Qatar will win 1:0 with a goal that will be scored in the second half. It fit perfectly into the stories of heavy corruption that have been circulating ever since the super-rich Qatar was chosen to host the World Cup in 2010.
Corruption in getting the organization of the WC was not the only contentious issue, there are also a huge number of deaths among workers from poor countries who built stadiums and infrastructure for the Championship and their slave treatment, discrimination and persecution of the LGBT community in Qatar...
A lot of dust was raised about it, there were calls to boycott the championship, and by certain organizations, national teams and fan groups from some countries like Germany, claims that the captains of some national teams will wear the captain's armbands, and some players will carry a message on their soccer cleats. supporting the LGBT community...
In the end, the mountain shook and a mouse was born, only in each round the matches will be connected with campaigns that will promote togetherness, a healthy life and the fight against discrimination, and such messages will also be found on the captain's armbands. It sounds like a victory for Qatar, and a cloud of hypocrisy remains above everything, and not because of the host's behavior.
It is unquestionable and indisputable that the treatment of the unfortunate foreign workers in Qatar is terrible, that the LGBT community should have the same rights as everyone else, that any discrimination is inadmissible, and that the situation in this regard in Qatar is exactly like this, as is claimed.
It's just that everyone who tried to qualify for this World Cup knew how things were in Qatar, so why didn't they give up right away? If by chance they only found out about it when they qualified, why didn't they just refuse to come to Qatar out of protest? Why the "indirect" support of principles (in the end, not even such)?
As for those who claim that they will not even watch the matches on television because of the protest, the question for them is whether they will also turn off the heating, because it is very likely that they are heating with gas from Qatar, which has become one of the most important suppliers of this energy to Europe since when were the sanctions against Russia introduced?
Speaking of energy sources, will the "boycotters" stop filling their cars with gas at the pumps, stop driving on buses and planes, since the oil mainly comes from Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and the situation there is as mentioned disputed issues the same or worse than in Qatar?
Sound excessive? Well, yes, but if it's about principles, I guess that's not a problem.
The questions are, of course, rhetorical, none of the above will happen, and the advocates of the boycott should be reminded that, if it were to be pushed to the limit and each country where a sporting event is held would be asked for serious offences, the sports arenas could be the only floating platforms at sea. Well, not all state sins are of the same gravity, but whoever really thinks there are "innocent" states does not live in this world.
Anyway, when this championship is over, there will only be talk about its winners and losers, heroes and disappointments, and no one will mention the "Qatar controversies" anymore. Just as only lovers of history and world politics still mention Jorge Videla, the head of the infamous military junta that ruled Argentina in 1978, when that country organized and won the World Cup in football, and everyone remembers only Mario Kempes, then the best player of the Argentine national team.
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The FIFA president hit back at critics of the human rights record in Qatar, the host of this year's World Cup. He stated that it is sad that "there is so much hypocrisy"
