2022 FIFA World Cup Finals

[35mm]

Because of course they did:

Qatar World Cup organisers apologise after threats to a Danish television crew

Organisers have apologised to TV2, whose live broadcast from a street in Doha was interrupted by Qatari officials who threatened to break their equipment

www.theguardian.com

My favourite bit:

• Journalists from the TV2 channel ‘were mistakenly interrupted’

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Warm up games start today and continue until Friday, tournament starts on Sunday.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Sadio Mane is out of the World Cup, there was hope that he could play some part despite his knee injury he suffered playing for Bayern a couple of weeks ago, however Bayern have said that he underwent successful surgery on his right fibula

No doubt this is a huge loss for Senegal, and maybe the wider footballing world as he has been incredible the past few years.

 

[Touring Mars]

Beer could be banned from all eight World Cup stadiums in potential U-turn | World Cup 2022 | The Guardian

The World Cup hosts Qatar want Fifa to stop the sale of beer at the eight tournament stadiums, according to reports

amp.theguardian.com

What a shock... I wonder what else the Qatari authorities might decide to change days before or even during the tournament. This is already an embarrassment for FIFA, but if Budweiser had any sense, they'd pull out of the tournament and sue FIFA for their $75m plus lost revenue.

At a reported £11+ for a half litre can of Budweiser and running the risk of arrest/jail if the Qataris decide you are 'drunk' in public (I wonder what the criteria for establishing that are...), you'd have to be pretty crazy to drink much at this event in the first place, but that's not the point...

 

[HenrySwanson]

Beer could be banned from all eight World Cup stadiums in potential U-turn | World Cup 2022 | The Guardian

The World Cup hosts Qatar want Fifa to stop the sale of beer at the eight tournament stadiums, according to reports

amp.theguardian.com

What a shock... I wonder what else the Qatari authorities might decide to change days before or even during the tournament. This is already an embarrassment for FIFA, but if Budweiser had any sense, they'd pull out of the tournament and sue FIFA for their $75m plus lost revenue.

At a reported £11+ for a half litre can of Budweiser and running the risk of arrest/jail if the Qataris decide you are 'drunk' in public (I wonder what the criteria for establishing that are...), you'd have to be pretty crazy to drink much at this event in the first place, but that's not the point...

It’s hell! Fans pay £370 a day to stay in sweltering cabins

The accommodation in Qatar that will host 6,000 football fans a night has been called hell that has air conditioning struggling to cope with the heat.Thousands

www.thetimes.co.uk

Two British contractors who have spent ten days in Doha at the site, the biggest for the World Cup, said that guests should not expect luxury for the start of the tournament on Sunday.

“It has been hell,” one said. “The air con in the cabin barely works and sounds like a [fighter jet] is taking off. Even if you have it on all the time during the day it is still 27C. You can’t have it on at night because it is so noisy.”

....

The contractors said it was difficult to sleep because of the noise from smoke detectors dotted around the site as well as the electricity generators.
“There are smoke alarms dotted around everywhere and they make this constant beeping noise,” one of the men said. “We asked them to change the batteries but they said the noise was to show they were working OK.”

....

Each cabin contains two single beds. “They are rock hard so you might as well sleep on the floor,” the second contractor said. “I have never been somewhere so uncomfortable.
“We have been here for ten days and it is a nightmare. It might be OK if you want to rough it for a night or two, but any longer would be dreadful.

“There are going to be a lot of unhappy people because they are not going to get what they have been promised. There is nowhere you can escape the heat and just cool down. It gets a bit better at 8.30pm-9pm but it is still hot.”

 

[Touring Mars]

It's official:

Qatar bans beer from World Cup stadiums after 11th-hour U-turn

Fifa has confirmed alcohol will be banned for World Cup fans in a major and unprecedented volte-face 48 hours before the tournament kicks off in Qatar

www.theguardian.com

Now... I can understand why they've done this - Qatar is, erm, Qatar after all... but to do it 48 hours before the tournament starts is absolutely ridiculous. It's also almost certainly a breach of contract.

 

[Jimlaad43]

The pressure will definitely be on France particularly in these first three games. Not since 2006 has a defending champion made it out of the group stages, with Italy, Spain, Germany falling in the last three World Cups with a whimper.

 

[Famine]

The pressure will definitely be on France particularly in these first three games. Not since 2006 has a defending champion made it out of the group stages, with Italy, Spain, Germany falling in the last three World Cups with a whimper.

And France itself doing the same in 2002.

Meanwhile broadcaster and footballer Izzy Christiansen has pulled out of her media duties for BBC Radio Five Live on the basis that she does not want to be involved with the tournament in any capacity.

Hopefully she gets as much attention for her decision as Gary Neville and David Beckham got for staying attached to the teat.

 

[HenrySwanson]

 

[Blitz24]

Well, at least the no beer will prevent any rioting in the stands from hooliganism. Then again, hooliganism in Qatar might get you executed.

 

[Famine]

Eh, Budweiser should be okay. They've only banned beer.

 

[GingerBredMan]

The games haven’t even started and we’ve already had journalists getting harassed, beer bans, and sketchy accommodations.

I’m getting Fyre Fest vibes.

 

[Touring Mars]

Today's World Cup headlines (apart from the alcohol ban with 2 days notice...)


Venue security live in squalor and being paid 35p a day:

Security guards at Doha World Cup park claim they are paid just 35p an hour

Migrant workers in Qatar acting as guards at Al-Bidda Park appear to get one day off a month and are housed in dirty camps on the edge of the desert

www.theguardian.com

Fan village 'a building site' 48 hours before tournament kick-off:

World Cup fan village still a building site 48 hours before Qatar 2022 kicks off

The Rawdat Al Jahhaniya accommodation is near the stadium where Wales play their first game in Qatar, against the US

www.theguardian.com

Paid 'fans' have their pay cut:

Fans paid to attend World Cup by Qatar have daily allowance cancelled

Fans who have travelled to Qatar as part of a controversial paid-for supporters programme have been told by Qatari authorities that their cash has been cut

www.theguardian.com

****. Show.


I hope this tournament serves as a turning point for world sport, to make massive sponsors, mega-rich athletes and corrupt governing bodies finally take the hint and realise that enough is enough, and that no sport is worth thousands of lives lost and many more lives made a living hell by treating their workforce like slaves.

-

edit: Or not...

‘I feel like a migrant worker’: Gianni Infantino hits out at World Cup criticism

The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, has hit back at criticism of Qatar from Europe in a press conference on the eve of the World Cup

www.theguardian.com

 

[PeterJB]

Classic deflection because the West is an easy target. We may have our own holy book and history of colonialism and slavery that informs how we have, and in some cases continue to treat women, gays, and foreigners; but guess what, the Arab World has all of those too, which much greater emphasis on the 'continue to' over the 'have'...

And of course there's plenty of oil-soaked money being handed to him under the table...

 

[Famine]

Just to rip off my own Tweet...

Sloth from the Goonies says you can't complain about working slaves to death for a kickabout, because it would have happened in 19th Century Europe as well.

 

[Cabelmania]

Everything you said about this World cup is right, and as a italian the fact that our national team is not in Qatar is starting to be a blessing in disguise But I wanna say this also...........

.......Infantino is clearly someone who want this World Cup to end as soon as possible I can see it in his eyes; he might be someone with his own crazy ideas (remember, we will have a 48 teams World Cup next time, still crazy to me), but I really feel how unconfortable he is

Seriously, (curse) Blatter, (curse) Platini and (curse) everyone else who decided all of this; Infantino is the lesser villan in all of this

I hope to have not infringed some rules with this post, I think this is my first controversial post in this site and I hope I will not regret this

 

[Jimlaad43]

 

[MagpieRacer]

Beer could be banned from all eight World Cup stadiums in potential U-turn | World Cup 2022 | The Guardian

The World Cup hosts Qatar want Fifa to stop the sale of beer at the eight tournament stadiums, according to reports

amp.theguardian.com

What a shock... I wonder what else the Qatari authorities might decide to change days before or even during the tournament. This is already an embarrassment for FIFA, but if Budweiser had any sense, they'd pull out of the tournament and sue FIFA for their $75m plus lost revenue.

At a reported £11+ for a half litre can of Budweiser and running the risk of arrest/jail if the Qataris decide you are 'drunk' in public (I wonder what the criteria for establishing that are...), you'd have to be pretty crazy to drink much at this event in the first place, but that's not the point...

This is where I'm concerned for the people there who will have a drink. They could just declare anyone who had had a drink, drunk, and unless the fan parks etc are considered private land, surely this can only end badly between fans and the state. Sure they've authorised the sale of alcohol in certain areas, but not public consumption?

 

[Touring Mars]

This is where I'm concerned for the people there who will have a drink. They could just declare anyone who had had a drink, drunk, and unless the fan parks etc are considered private land, surely this can only end badly between fans and the state. Sure they've authorised the sale of alcohol in certain areas, but not public consumption?

Yes, I reckon all foreign fans would be very well advised not to drink alcohol at all, or if they must, then to do it at a safe distance from the stadium - like Europe.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

I have really posted much on here about the controverses and issues surrounding the tournament, mostly because I'm not intelligent enough to have in-depth conversations about them, I will say that it's looking like it will be the worst World Cup in history and I think the Football needs to deliver for it not to be, it was staggering to watch Infantino effectively have a meltdown on live TV.

Anyway the tournament starts tomorrow, here is the schedule for the first round of group stage games.

Sunday.
Qatar v Ecuador (4pm)
(Plus opening ceremony)

Monday.
England v Iran (1pm)
Senegal v Netherlands (4pm)
USA v Wales (7pm)

Tuesday.
Argentina v Saudi Arabia (10am)
Denmark v Tunisia (1pm)
Mexico v Poland (4pm)
France v Australia (7pm)

Wednesday.
Morocco v Croatia (10am)
Germany v Japan (1pm)
Spain v Costa Rica (4pm)
Belgium v Canada (7pm)

Thursday.
Switzerland v Cameroon (10am)
Uruguay v South Korea (1pm)
Portugal v Ghana (4pm)
Brazil v Serbia (7pm)

All kick off times are GMT.

 

[Touring Mars]

I'll be watching a few games even though I'm genuinely not that bothered with the entire tournament, but some of my friends and family are, and hence I won't be boycotting the tournament entirely.

I'll be working on Monday but will have the England game on - unless my mate insists on dragging me to the pub at lunchtime to watch it. I'll also watch the Wales games, and England v Wales will be a great game. My mate has also invited me out on the Saturday when there is 2 Quarter Finals, so I'll be watching those too.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Karim Benzema will miss the tournament because of a thigh injury, it's obviously a missive blow for France and Benzema is another big name they are missing.

 

[Jimlaad43]

5 minutes into the tournament and we've already had a goal ruled out inexplicably by VAR for something nobody can decipher.

Ecuador scored a perfectly alright goal after a free kick pinball in the penalty box, but someone somewhere was deemed offside.

Qatari money suddenly pouring into officials' bank accounts?

 

[Blitz24]

5 minutes into the tournament and we've already had a goal ruled out inexplicably by VAR for something nobody can decipher.

Ecuador scored a perfectly alright goal after a free kick pinball in the penalty box, but someone somewhere was deemed offside.

Qatari money suddenly pouring into officials' bank accounts?

If Qatar advances to the knockout round, I would be convinced the World Cup is rigged.

 

[MagpieRacer]

5 minutes into the tournament and we've already had a goal ruled out inexplicably by VAR for something nobody can decipher.

Ecuador scored a perfectly alright goal after a free kick pinball in the penalty box, but someone somewhere was deemed offside.

Qatari money suddenly pouring into officials' bank accounts?

Ecuador player next to the keeper is offside, then Valencia could be argued as being offside within the same phase of play as well. But it's the initial ball and flick on that is offside.

 

[kowalski__1]

I'm already looking forward to World Cup 2026.
With a little luck ,i hope to be at some games in Toronto, with a beer in hand.

 

[Jimlaad43]

No context World Cup

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Qatar 0-2 Ecuador.

Two first half goals from Enner Valencia, one from the penalty spot after Valencia was brought down by Saad and the second was a nice header after a well worked play, Ecuador did have a goal ruled out for offside via VAR prior to the goals. Qatar was poor and offered very little, they didn't have a shot on target and it's only going to get harder as they play the two strongest teams in the group next.

Fun fact, Enner Valencia now has five World Cup goals, the same as Beckenbauer, Hurst, Platini, Romario and Zidane.

 

[Dennisch]

If only footballers had actual balls they would be done by now.

I just know that they'll start bitching about this when the tournament is over. But only then.

Pussies. First grade hypocrite pussies.

 

[HenrySwanson]

If only footballers had actual balls they would be done by now.

I just know that they'll start bitching about this when the tournament is over. But only then.

Pussies. First grade hypocrite pussies.

Look, if we were alive 200 years ago we would have totally stood against oppression but a yellow card in the present time is just a bridge too far. It's not like there have been any sporting boycotts in living memory