Gianni Infantino loses the plot (WC 2002 Edition)

NewGlory

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This thread is about Infantino and his speech that for most part was nonsens even if he sometimes said something you could agree on.
That is an old trick - sprinkle a load of nonsense with couple half-truths, a method beloved by Third Reich, Soviet KGB propaganda, and modern-day trolls, including Putin and Co
 
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JustKatie

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I don't particularly care about people being offended for their religion. I have no qualms criticizing your religion if your religion is not compatible with human rights for all. If that's "phobic", then so be it.
That counts for all religions whether it's Islam or Christianity (I see you, evangelicals).
This to a tee.

I don't like religion as almost all of them have extreme anti-human bias in some respect whether that is anti women, LGBT folk or have pressuring to convert under duress. I'm not against Muslims or Christians or any other religious PEOPLE, just their beliefs which are anti human (or in a lot of case anti anything that isn't a straight man)
 

NewGlory

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Brilliant response. Well done.
Melissa Reddy nailed it. Thank you for sharing. I follow her, but due to horrible Twitter algorithm I didn't even get to see this tweet of hers. Sigh
 

africanspur

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I agree. It would be very naive to deny it. However, on the same note I can't help but point out that there is a similar undercurrent to certain other comments: I have a hard time not suspecting that some posters on here find it easy to ignore particular aspects of Qatari "culture" in these debates because...they actually don't have a problem with them in the first place.



Yeah, no doubt.

But then again there's a clear tendency to lump everything and everyone together, pretending that the same people who are vocally against Qatar hosting it are perfectly happy with the USA as a host on every level.

Plus - the effect of whataboutery (whatever the intention of the individual poster) is distraction. It takes attention away from the matter at hand. Qatar is here and now, it's only natural that people focus on it (and not on the next World Cup): sure, we can suspect that some of the people who are busy criticizing it (Qatar) here and now will not be equally vocal about the shortcomings of the next host. Focusing on this in the present discussion is still...whataboutery.
Well indeed. And I alluded to this in that same post. They are unsurprisingly the same posters who unfortunately had some weird takes on the Talibans return to power for instance.

I have to say I slightly disagree with the second paragraph. I think pure whataboutery is annoying and, like I said, used to totally deflect from failings.

I don't think people saying 'Qatar is a crap choice, but perhaps challenging people to also consider some unconscious biases as to whether they may have the same thoughts for other countries ' is whataboutery. For some people, it doesn't come from good intentions. For others,it's frustration at what they see as rank hypocrisy.
 

mu4c_20le

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I wouldn’t have to call out shite, if people weren’t being Islamophobic. If you judge the Muslim countries for their belief system and how ‘wrong it is’, my point is that you should look at yourself before you give moral lessons because the western world are no angels.
Did you also call out the west when they stuck up for muslims being oppressed in China? Did you also call out western hypocrisy and their dodgy history and racist undertones
 

africanspur

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I think it comes down to accepting that certain countries are not accepting on alcohol,


I completely agree with you but the only reason I’m commenting is because I feel there is Islamophobia undertones in this thread and it’s masked behind the LGBT and Alcohol comments when it doesn’t feel like that and I had to say something. I never criticise any other countries but will protect my religion and Qatar is a Muslim country and they’re not about to change their rules for 30 days of football, whether anyone likes that or not. I stand by that. I’m actually enjoying the fact that they have refused to sell Alcohol. People need to get over it and enjoy the football.

There is no denying the fact that Qatar shouldn't have gotten the World Cup. I’m not refuting that because I too feel they won it on the basis of something more sinister but someone people on here need to take a long hard look at themselves. No country in this day and age is squeaky clean. A bit of tired of all of this to be fair as it’s football and not politics. Just enjoy the World Cup, go to Qatar is your willing to accept their rules or don’t go at all.

I think what’s really annoyed me is the owner of BrewDog and Box Park in London campaigning against this World Cup whilst showing the games in Box Park and selling his lager through third parties in Qatar which quite rightly so has been called out on it all over social media. This country is really something. Infantino is right. Look at yourself before you hand out moral lessons.
For the first part, not necessarily. Again, nobody forced Qatar to apply. Yet apply they did, knowing that they're inviting in a sport where for a lot of fans across the world, drinking is part of it. Arabs tend to conflate drinking with 'western' culture, as if south Americans, Africans, South Asians and East Asians don't also drink alcohol on a regular basis.

Moreover, few people really actually care about the alcohol. It's the accumulation of everything, as well as the fact that Qatar have moved the goalposts on multiple issues since being awarded the tournament (timing, LGBT rights, alcohol etc).

It can't have suddenly come as a surprise to Qatar about what the world cup is about and budweiser as a sponsor for instance. Yet their plans to ban alcohol from the stadium were not part of their application. Funny that.

What you're missing here is that nobodywould be commenting on Qatar or any part of its laws if they didn't decide to host a global tournament. That's what some people seem to be missing when they talk about 'how dare westerners dictate rules to us!'.

I mean.....is there a big drive or campaign to change the rules or criticise the rules re LGBT rights in Oman? Or Kuwait? Why do you think that may be?
 

Chesterlestreet

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I don't think people saying 'Qatar is a crap choice, but perhaps challenging people to also consider some unconscious biases as to whether they may have the same thoughts for other countries ' is whataboutery.
No, that's fair enough.

But if you phrase it like you did, you aren't (and that's exactly the point) focusing (unduly and aggressively) on the part that isn't immediately relevant to the discussion at hand, you're just adding a point that might indeed be worth thinking about. I personally don't have a problem with that at all.

It's the "haha, this is pure hypocrisy 'cause something something" posts that are the problem.
 

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Did you also call out the west when they stuck up for muslims being oppressed by China? Did you also call out western hypocrisy and their dodgy history
The West would "stick up for muslims in China" because it's a propaganda tool to beat China down and contain them. The research evidence from the religious zealot Adrian Zenz and ASPI (both US-funded) are laughable when you dig into the details. Since when have the West truly cared about Chinese or Muslims? Let alone Chinese Muslims.

The Muslims in China continue to practice their beliefs and traditional culture. They study their own mother tongue in schools and get preferential admission to good universities. Trying watching Vlogs of Xinjiang without the propaganda lens of western media. I don't see the continued practice of indigenous cultures and language in lands anglo saxon countries took by force (US, Australia). Anyway I'm not surprised the narrative here is so hypocritical. Just the first half an hour of RTE's coverage and the entire focus of the World Cup is on human rights and corruption. Didn't hear that when London hosted the Olympics in 2012 nor in 2021 despite their unprovoked, brutal and aggressive destruction of Tripoli amongst others in Africa and the ME (coups, regime change, and so on).



If you lot truly care about all these human rights abuses and atrocities that every country is guilty of, start from within and address your own problems first. They are truly horrific.
 

Red Star One

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The West would "stick up for muslims in China" because it's a propaganda tool to beat China down and contain them. The research evidence from the religious zealot Adrian Zenz and ASPI (both US-funded) are laughable when you dig into the details. Since when have the West truly cared about Chinese or Muslims? Let alone Chinese Muslims.

The Muslims in China continue to practice their beliefs and traditional culture. They study their own mother tongue in schools and get preferential admission to good universities. Trying watching Vlogs of Xinjiang without the propaganda lens of western media. I don't see the continued practice of indigenous cultures and language in lands anglo saxon countries took by force (US, Australia). Anyway I'm not surprised the narrative here is so hypocritical. Just the first half an hour of RTE's coverage and the entire focus of the World Cup is on human rights and corruption. Didn't hear that when London hosted the Olympics in 2012 nor in 2021 despite their unprovoked, brutal and aggressive destruction of Tripoli amongst others in Africa and the ME (coups, regime change, and so on).



If you lot truly care about all these human rights abuses and atrocities that every country is guilty of, start from within and address your own problems first. They are truly horrific.
Qanon level bullshit. Impressive
 

mu4c_20le

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The West would "stick up for muslims in China" because it's a propaganda tool to beat China down and contain them. The research evidence from the religious zealot Adrian Zenz and ASPI (both US-funded) are laughable when you dig into the details. Since when have the West truly cared about Chinese or Muslims? Let alone Chinese Muslims.
There is probably some agenda in there yeah, with China being one of their biggest rivals and all. But I also think the chinese have left themselves open for attack by going a bit too far with their education camps or whatever they call them. I dont know if its specifically about islam or perhaps that is just one of the factors, but they give me the impression that they think these people are a bit too wild and need to be curbed. Ironically its not too dissimilar to the way the western world used to send indigenous children away from their families and into their schools to 'help' them assimilate. Anyways thats probably for the relevant thread in the CE, so ill just leave that here, I just find it interesting the calls for whataboutism dont happen when the west was defending muslims, or at least calling out their plight.
 

DeGea

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What should we do then? Just ignore it and cheer them on?
We can just watch the football. Yes there are issues with migrant worker treatments etc2 and the Qataris are trying to change these things.

But unless the UK or Europeans want to open a frank, unbiased discussion about how to treat people, then I suggest they be very careful about taking a holier than thou attitude towards Qatar.
 

Pronewbie

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There is probably some agenda in there yeah, with China being one of their biggest rivals and all. But I also think the chinese have left themselves open for attack by going a bit too far with their education camps or whatever they call them. I dont know if its specifically about islam or perhaps that is just one of the factors, but they give me the impression that they think these people are a bit too wild and need to be curbed. Ironically its not too dissimilar to the way the western world used to send indigenous children away from their families and into their schools to 'help' them assimilate. Anyways thats probably for the relevant thread in the CE, so ill just leave that here, I just find it interesting the calls for whataboutism dont happen when the west was defending muslims, or at least calling out their plight.
Yeah the camps were China's way of dealing with their terrorism issues, I wouldn't be surprised if there were human rights abuse there, just like there were in many other Western countries. The Arab on a dog leash in Guantanamo Bay springs to mind.

The BBC is hammering it home too by the way. Honestly, I think this is just geopolitics, and a way to distract people in the West from their politicians' gross mismanagement of economic and social issues. And it's only going to get worse over the next 12 months (at least). The Qataris haven't been playing the role the West would like them to in the cost-of-living crisis and containment of China / Russia. The agenda to completely destroy their reputation is obvious. The rest of the world is starting to wake up to this nonsense though. The West is running out of peoples to smear and lie about outside of their garden.
 

Bert_

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A lot of folks on here should listen to that from Reddy. Especially the last bit...

Melissa Reddy said:
"He talks about the hypocrisy, I do not think Infantino is the man to speak about hypocrisy. I do not think whataboutism is the correct route for a FIFA president to try and enforce change.

"If we all get stuck on what's happened before or what's going on elsewhere and we have to stay silent because of that, we'll never bring about any effective change. We'd all just never say anything ever because no country is untouched and untainted, but we're here for the World Cup and on the eve of the tournament, this is what we are getting.

"He says it will be the best World Cup in history, I think this will be the World Cup that really underpins just how dirty the game is."
 

Iker Quesadillas

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I don't think people saying 'Qatar is a crap choice, but perhaps challenging people to also consider some unconscious biases as to whether they may have the same thoughts for other countries ' is whataboutery. For some people, it doesn't come from good intentions.
I don't know if it's whataboutery or not.

But I don't think we can really have these discussions while isolating the fact that Qatar is a crap choice.
 

Cascarino

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The problem I have with this whole media agenda against Qatar is that it’s being propagated by people who’ve never visited let alone lived there.
The problem with this line of thinking is that ultimately it amounts to shielding countries from any and all criticism, unless the one making the observations resides in said country, regardless of how valid the criticism is. You don't have to spend your summers in Israel to take issue with Israeli occupation of the West Bank. The murder of George Floyd led to outrage from all around the world, it would have been a very questionable reaction for someone to respond to this global condemnation of systemic racism with a "mind your own business". The UK understandably faced widespread criticism over Brexit, I disagree that holding a blue passport should be a prerequisite to point out the large role xenophobia played in the voting outcome.

I see no problem engaging in discourse around such issues, as long as it's not done from a place of ignorance/malice. Of course the nature of these issues will vary greatly from individual dependent on their own beliefs.

For those that are ignorant, you may want to look at how Britain treats so called migrants/refugees from similar demographics in 2022. Let alone work environments, they are not allowed to work AT ALL. Some of them live in squalor. Heck look at how our own government has treated its working class? Energy prices/taxes/cost of living anyone - how have these issues been precipitated? Has anyone paid attention to the social care crisis in the NHS and how it has increased death rates in hospital? It’s not in mainstream media is it. How are these issues any different in principle?

Read about the East India company (a British company) and how it cut off workers fingers in the fabric industry - all for profit. fecking hypocrisy as far as I’m concerned and some of you are oblivious. We have absolutely no right to adopt the moral high ground.
I'm not 100% what you're getting at here. I can't tell if you're talking about the media or posters. Either way it doesn't make much sense to me, all the points you've outlined are daily news, and despite your belief that it's somehow not mainstream news, I assure you it is. As for cafe posters, the treatment of migrants/refugees is something that is widely condemned, on a daily basis. The UK government are (rightfully) constantly derided on here as being literal evil.

As for the bolded, that's not hypocrisy. Unless you genuinely think that posters who have raised the issues simultaneously support the actions and conduct of the East India Company?
 

Ludens the Red

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I'm really enjoying the white privilege driven melt down. Everyone HAS to follow your rules because YOU know best.

When Westerners decide someone with a penis can use the ladies loos because that's how they identify suddenly that becomes okay too.

The icing on the cake is the selective application of morality too.

Buying Qatari gas is OK. Qatar owning half of London is fine. Selling them advanced weaponry is OK - but no beer in the WC stadium for peasants is the hill to die on.

Similarly most Westerners, including and especially the celebrity wokeratti, will holiday in Dubai - a city built on slave labour and dead labourers. Nobody remembers that because in Dubai you can get your tits out and have a drink. The only person discriminated against in Dubai is the Asian migrant worker - and all us wealthy Asians still go holiday in Dubai, so why shouldnt you? Also I forgot to mention that like London and Switzerland, Dubai is a global money laundering hub - but that doesn't matter if you have money.

Shout out to the biggest petrol pump of them all. Saudi Arabia - bombing Yemeni Civilians since 2015 but again - thier oil and money is OK, they host concerts and boxing matches.

On top of it all there is the direct support for discrimination and oppression through the support of dictators like Sisi in Eygpt and the hybrid regime in Pakistan. These countries have Western backed governments that have turned lives into hell for anyone who wants basic political freedom - fully supported and funded by the Western governments. Yet we see crocodile tears for homosexuals in Qatar.

There is actually a "country" in the middle east who's human rights record is akin to the Nazis. It has limitless political and financial support from the Western governments. It faces no sanctions. Attempts to boycott it have been banned in some countries. It has been embraced by Uefa (funny that)... Can you guess who it is?

You can be gay in this country, you can drink beer on the streets, sunbathe on the beach - what you can't do is be Palestinian.
Not sure what your point is here. People have been campaigning and criticising these issues for years and years and years. There’s even threads on here. I mean you had thousands in London (including white people) protesting at the Iran embassy for the treatment of women for. I strongly doubt there’s many on this forum who dine with the sorts of folk your referencing in this post. As if the folk on the cafe or your normal working folk are the ones dining with the Saudis and taking their money. Some truly nonsensical whataboutism…

I mean that bit about Qatar. Are you seriously suggesting more people have complained about there not being beer in Qatar than issues like the sales of weapons/property to Qatar and countries of that ilk .

Trash of a post in all honesty.
presumably trying to suggest and shoehorn that ‘white and western folk’ have ignored all these highly complex issues previously and are now only complaining about beer and homosexuality laws. Have you been asleep for twenty years?
People in this country have despised the government for years and years. They’ve protested wars. They’ve protested police brutality, women’s rights, gay rights, the list goes on…

Basically this post is the equivalent of Infanfeckface’s interview. The only thing you’ve not done is claim to be disabled, gay, black and Arab.
 

NewGlory

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An argument against "Islamophobic undertones" would hold more weight if this thread weren't full of anti-Western overtones. It is a bit silly to ask for acceptance while every two pages some person shows up saying the West is immoral and repulsive.
All they needed to say was:

"I am muslim, but I am not homophobe and am against Qatar's homophobic, anti-human laws as much as you are. Please don't assume all of Qatar stands for it"

But they didn't. They try to sell their unacceptable hatred for their "culture". And that is the big fecking difference - I do not condone any of the atrocities Europe (which by the way is not monolithic) has done or is doing. And I will not sell it as "my culture" or engage in idiotic whataboutism. And oh by the way - there are as many bigoted, homophobe Christians as there are Muslims, so this has nothing to do with being anti-Islam.

These trolls are homophobes and that is why they are taking it so personally. Simple as that.
 

Polar

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We can just watch the football. Yes there are issues with migrant worker treatments etc2 and the Qataris are trying to change these things.

But unless the UK or Europeans want to open a frank, unbiased discussion about how to treat people, then I suggest they be very careful about taking a holier than thou attitude towards Qatar.
Yes people can just watch football, but many people also have strong opinions against dictatorships. I’m glad people care about humanity regardless of history or earlier mistakes.

If Infantino is allowed to continue and FIFA doesn’t operate according to certain values, they can just turn off the lights and close down business. That’s exactly what’s going to happen if example Iran gets World Cup in football.
 

Red Star One

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These trolls are homophobes and that is why they are taking it so personally. Simple as that.
Or in general poor bastards blinded by anti-West propaganda, some of the lines here were straight from the disinformation books, some arguments and defense of human rights abuse would make North Korean leaders (please don’t disrespect their culture and allow them to live happily in a different way to the Westerners) humbled :lol:
 

Wing Attack Plan R

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Please, this cannot be allowed here. For gods sake a ginger has lost all their hair, this is not right mods. I know this poster has a longstanding history here, but this is not right. I can't be the only one that thinks this?
Seb! I don’t understand. In our What’s App group you said the only people you hated more than the gingers and the baldos were the scouse! I’ve been gaslit!
 

Trophy Room

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The problem with this line of thinking is that ultimately it amounts to shielding countries from any and all criticism, unless the one making the observations resides in said country, regardless of how valid the criticism is. You don't have to spend your summers in Israel to take issue with Israeli occupation of the West Bank. The murder of George Floyd led to outrage from all around the world, it would have been a very questionable reaction for someone to respond to this global condemnation of systemic racism with a "mind your own business". The UK understandably faced widespread criticism over Brexit, I disagree that holding a blue passport should be a prerequisite to point out the large role xenophobia played in the voting outcome.

I see no problem engaging in discourse around such issues, as long as it's not done from a place of ignorance/malice. Of course the nature of these issues will vary greatly from individual dependent on their own beliefs.



I'm not 100% what you're getting at here. I can't tell if you're talking about the media or posters. Either way it doesn't make much sense to me, all the points you've outlined are daily news, and despite your belief that it's somehow not mainstream news, I assure you it is. As for cafe posters, the treatment of migrants/refugees is something that is widely condemned, on a daily basis. The UK government are (rightfully) constantly derided on here as being literal evil.

As for the bolded, that's not hypocrisy. Unless you genuinely think that posters who have raised the issues simultaneously support the actions and conduct of the East India Company?
The hypocrisy lies in the disproportionate manner in which these so called moral issues are covered in the media and the reaction it is intended to induce. Moral issues would never have been highlighted in the same way if the World Cup was contested in the West. Why is Qatar being singled out? There is no such thing as a morally clean state. What if America or Britain had been awarded the tournament? Would our war-mongering in Iraq, our treatment of refugees (for that matter our middle class!!), or abortion laws in the US be discussed with as much vigour? Very doubtful. The example of the East India company was simply to highlight how morality has historically been swept under the carpet when issues are precipitated by Western entities. Can you imagine if Guantanamo was a Middle Eastern creation? Discuss.

I have no doubt that there has been corruption at many world cups including the last one. However, host countries have always been painted in a generally positive light. The focus has been on football and I think Qatar deserves the same. Every Brit I’ve spoken to that lives in Qatar loves it out there so maybe, just maybe it is far more tolerant than it is perceived to be.
 

Bert_

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As long as the British Empire and the American government don't pay reparations for the millions of lives they destroyed through colonialism and slavery, I plug my ear when they or their citizens stand on their moral soapbox about other cultures.
Rome still hasn't made right their rape and pillage of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Therefore I have ignored the opinion of anyone born on the Italian peninsula since AD 43 as they are clearly complicit in the crime.
 

Bert_

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Let's be honest, Western citizens criticize low hanging fruit. Racism is bad, but not care to address the mass incarceration of black and brown people. Poverty is bad, but very little said about the constant cutting of social welfare programs in underprivileged communities.

Here is one we can all get behind: Let's all ask for the US to be removed from all international sporting events until they grant universal healthcare for all its citizens. We can all rally around that right?
Don't disagree with any of that.
 

Calidad

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If they can prove it, then it should happen.
And where do you draw the line? The history of slavery alone spans pretty much every nationality, culture, ethnicity and religion, in every corner of the earth.

Unfortunately, since we’ve arrived on this earth, we’ve been raping, pillaging, conquering. That’s how the modern world has been shaped. Every empire. Every civilisation. Generally, man hasn’t loved thy neighbour.

Thankfully, all of the the above, is now widely viewed as rather unpalatable. But we’ve been horrible bastards for the vast majority of our time on this planet.
 

Tincanalley

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The West would "stick up for muslims in China" because it's a propaganda tool to beat China down and contain them. The research evidence from the religious zealot Adrian Zenz and ASPI (both US-funded) are laughable when you dig into the details. Since when have the West truly cared about Chinese or Muslims? Let alone Chinese Muslims.

The Muslims in China continue to practice their beliefs and traditional culture. They study their own mother tongue in schools and get preferential admission to good universities. Trying watching Vlogs of Xinjiang without the propaganda lens of western media. I don't see the continued practice of indigenous cultures and language in lands anglo saxon countries took by force (US, Australia). Anyway I'm not surprised the narrative here is so hypocritical. Just the first half an hour of RTE's coverage and the entire focus of the World Cup is on human rights and corruption. Didn't hear that when London hosted the Olympics in 2012 nor in 2021 despite their unprovoked, brutal and aggressive destruction of Tripoli amongst others in Africa and the ME (coups, regime change, and so on).



If you lot truly care about all these human rights abuses and atrocities that every country is guilty of, start from within and address your own problems first. They are truly horrific.
You lot? Who *** be? Every country guilty? Troll.
 

africanspur

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Can you imagine if Guantanamo was a Middle Eastern creation? Discuss.
You mean like the tens of thousands of political prisoners currently languishing in prisons for political prisoners at the current COP host?
 

NewGlory

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Rome still hasn't made right their rape and pillage of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Therefore I have ignored the opinion of anyone born on the Italian peninsula since AD 43 as they are clearly complicit in the crime.
Boom! Troll heads spinning to respond with a comeback.

You are making a solid point there, but what about the violence and oppression in Babylonia? Have you denounced THAT?
 

Polar

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The hypocrisy lies in the disproportionate manner in which these so called moral issues are covered in the media and the reaction it is intended to induce. Moral issues would never have been highlighted in the same way if the World Cup was contested in the West. Why is Qatar being singled out? There is no such thing as a morally clean state. What if America or Britain had been awarded the tournament? Would our war-mongering in Iraq, our treatment of refugees (for that matter our middle class!!), or abortion laws in the US be discussed with as much vigour? Very doubtful. The example of the East India company was simply to highlight how morality has historically been swept under the carpet when issues are precipitated by Western entities. Can you imagine if Guantanamo was a Middle Eastern creation? Discuss.

I have no doubt that there has been corruption at many world cups including the last one. However, host countries have always been painted in a generally positive light. The focus has been on football and I think Qatar deserves the same. Every Brit I’ve spoken to that lives in Qatar loves it out there so maybe, just maybe it is far more tolerant than it is perceived to be.
No States are perfect, but we are in trouble if we aren’t able to draw the line between dictatorships and democracies, like some people obviously have problems with.

You may have forgotten that many western people also raised their voices against Guantanamo (and example also French testing of nuclear bombs at Polynesia). Maybe ordinary people made a difference? Why should we threat Qatar differently?

I can’t see a reason why people shouldn’t raise their voices if they deeply disagree with governments.

As I’ve said before…. World Cup in football, but also the Olympics, isn’t only about sport. Hosting nations calculate with benefits beside sport, and if you join the game you also have to take the pain!

It’s also pretty fair to criticise FIFA when they don’t act according to what’s best for the sport itself, read sport values:fairness, integrity, responsibility, and respect.

(… and I’m not talking about respect for dictatorship and systemic violations of human rights).
 
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Trophy Room

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No States are perfect, but we are in trouble if we aren’t able to draw the line between dictatorships and democracies, like some people obviously have problems with.

You may have forgotten that many western people also raised their voices against Guantanamo (and example also French testing of nuclear bombs at Polynesia). Maybe ordinary people made a difference? Why should we threat Qatar differently?

I can’t see a reason why people shouldn’t raise their voices if they deeply disagree with governments.

As I’ve said before…. World Cup in football, but also the Olympics, isn’t only about sport. Hosting nations calculate with benefits beside sport, and if you join the game you also have to take the pain!

It’s also pretty fair to criticise FIFA when they don’t act according to what’s best for the sport itself, read sport values:fairness, integrity, responsibility, and respect.

(… and I’m not talking about respect for dictatorship and systemic violations of human rights).
Some of your points are completely fair and I don’t have an issue with major (sporting) events being used as a platform to voice discontent and raise awareness. My point was to highlight the disproportionality of western media coverage in this context.

In Western Europe there was a coordinated effort to not live televise the opening ceremony of the World Cup - that’s preposterous. This didn’t happen at the last World Cup and certainly won’t happen at the next one. What moral barometer was this decision based on then? I might add it was one of the best opening ceremonies I’ve seen - a message of unity.
 

Trophy Room

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A hollow message given the context.
Far less hollow than mainstream media or the concept of western morality in my mind. You may wish to read about the guy that participated alongside Morgan Freeman - loved his story - but then again may not resonate with you given cultural differences and backgrounds.
 

Iker Quesadillas

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Far less hollow than mainstream media or the concept of western morality in my mind.
It is fine for you to think that western morality is hollow. But if you write that while preaching about 'messages of unity', one might be inclined to think you are being disingenuous.