Surprised ref. didn't let him throw it in as they do in Eurohandball. Seriously, what were the officials watching?
Everything about this World Cup is wrong, right down to my almost total lack of interest in it. I don’t know if that’s an age thing with me, but I used to be so excited for these tournaments as a youngster, collecting Panini stickers and soaking up every newspaper or magazine article going. I couldn’t even tell you who’s in the England squad, although pretty sure I’d guess 80% correctly. I guess if England progress and excitement mounts I’ll get caught up in all of that until the inevitable disappointment, but I’m pretty apathetic as it stands. Would rather the league season continued uninterrupted. It’s the double standards that irritate me the most, not that I’m personally that animated by what goes on in Qatar or any other country. Sorry, but I’m not really moved at my core like others are. But this tournament will go on, the league season has been temporarily halted. Despite all the bleatings about human rights, the players will still play, the advertisers will still advertise, the TV stations will still pay to broadcast, fans will still go, Gary Neville will still er… pundit, Becks will still er… do whatever he took a small fortune to do, and the TV audience will still watch it on the telly all over the world. FIFA were wrong to put the WC in Qatar, but all this stuff about the regime is just tokenism. Money talks and the hypocrites should acknowledge it. If people really cared about it someone should make a gesture. Kane wearing a rainbow armband or Denmark wearing a blank shirt is bollocks. I dare say the Danes have sold loads of those shirts… they’re pretty cool.
It all comes down to personal choice at the end of the day Ubes. I don’t worry myself that plenty will ignore the wrongs behind this World Cup and gorge the games like any other WC of the past. But … personally I will not be watching any games as it feels personally wrong on so many levels. I’m not claiming to change the world or that my personal action will bring about change in Qatar on any humanitarian level, however you have to measure your own ethical values by your own actions and how you feel about it. My small act is a drop in the ocean, but there is no ocean without a mass of drops together to make some form of expression in this world where there is always an excuse or pressure to be involved. I can’t even begin to think how those values would be tested if England got to the final.
Well, Qatar may have gone one step too far now: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/18/sports/soccer/world-cup-beer-qatar.html You can kill the migrant workers and imprison the gays, but messing with the corporate sponsors and denying people beer? Uh oh.
FIFA now in deep **** with one of its major sponsors, Budweiser. Not only no beer (ok US bud isn’t really beer) but also no advertising in stadia. They paid $75m for the privilege. I hope all the sponsors suffer similarly, viewing figures ruin advertising takes and FIFA gets crushed in the aftermath. Oh dear how sad never mind.
Again, someone has read my mind. We seem to have a board of clairvoyants, and yet we can't predict when QPR will win again or even where our next goal is coming from.
I'm sure I heard somewhere that you can buy beer, but only in certain restricted areas. And the price is exorbitant. Still, I reckon some smarties will find a way of smuggling the amber fluid into the grounds. But if they get caught, well let's say they could have new tattoos on their backs, courtesy of the Qatari admin. And judging from past images, it won't be hard to tell who has. The smuggling, not the lashes. But don't quote me on that. ... No, please don't.
If they're Bud drinkers, then they're not going to be watching football. If they are then they'll be wondering when the Cowboys/49ers game is on or the NCAA match starts. I think Budweiser has screwed itself.
My pal's son-in-law is in Doha working on the World Cup (he does online commentaries). He's paying £15 a pint in his hotel.
Is that you I see in there WBA? Hot and sunny I'll bet. You've gotten quite a tan since you arrived in Qatar. What has it been now, eight years? Well, that tan will take a long time to fade when you get back. At least you won't be getting rickets for some time.
