Megathread for news/updates/discussion about the 2022 World Cup

Some Infantino related articles:
FIFA head says fans ‘will survive’ without beer at World Cup (AP)

‘I feel gay, disabled … like a woman too!’: Infantino makes bizarre attack on critics (Guardian)

In an 57-minute diatribe which frequently drew gasps of astonishment, Infantino claimed that western nations were in no position to give morality lessons to Qatar given their past and current behaviour.

“We have been told many, many lessons from some Europeans, from the western world,” he said. “I think for what we Europeans have been doing the last 3,000 years we should be apologising for the next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons to people.”

Infantino also played down concerns over whether LGBTQ+ fans faced danger in a country where gay people risk torture and imprisonment, and insisted that Qatar – with Fifa’s help – had reformed workers’ rights beyond all recognition.

The speech began, though, with Infantino appearing to suggest that his own experiences as a son of Italian immigrants in Switzerland gave him a deep understanding of migrant workers and other minorities in Qatar.

“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.”

Later it was pointed out that in his opening monologue, he had missed out half the world’s population. “I feel like a woman too!” Infantino added.

ಠ_ಠ

Qatar won't allow any cooked Kosher food and public Jewish prayer (JPost)

Jewish organizations have said that even though they were promised otherwise, Qatar won’t allow any cooked kosher food to be sold or offered to visitors of the FIFA World Cup.

Sources in Jewish organizations told The Jerusalem Post that Qatar broke another promise to allow Jewish prayer services in Doha during the games, claiming it couldn’t secure this type of activity and then banned it completely.

“We were promised to be allowed to create prayer spaces in order for religious Jews who came to see the games to have a place of worship,” a representative of a Jewish organization said. “We were recently told that they banned places of worship for Jews because they cannot secure them.”

According to other sources, there is an estimate of more than 10,000 religious Jews from Israel and around the world that are expected to arrive in Doha.

“They were promised to be able to cook kosher food including kosher meat, but at the moment have only been allowed to sell cold bagel sandwiches,” they said.

According to another source, a number of wealthy American Jews planned to come as a large group but canceled their arrangements since they said they wouldn’t feel secure and not have enough food to eat.

“There is no kosher food, there are no Shabbat meals and no public prayer services,” a source said. He added that the Qataris said “they would separate religion from sports, so how come the great Qatar doesn’t know how to secure Jewish worshipers?”

The Post reached out to Qatar’s Foreign Ministry for comment, but has not heard back.

Iran soccer team refuses to sing national anthem before World Cup opener (Newsweek)

Players on the Iranian national soccer team kept a defiant silence as their national anthem played ahead of their World Cup opener against England in Qatar on Monday — an apparent protest of the theocratic government’s months-long violent crackdown on widespread protests.

As a TV camera supplying a worldwide feed panned down Iran’s starting lineup, the players stood stone-faced with their arms around each other’s shoulders.

Multiple reports also indicated that some Iranian fans booed the anthem at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.

Many Iran fans wore T-shirts or held signs printed with the mantra of the uprising — “Woman, Life, Freedom.” Others wore shirts bearing the names of female protesters killed by Iranian security forces in recent weeks.

The Iran national team’s captain, Ehsan Hajsafi, told reporters the day before the match that he and his teammates “support” those who have died.

“We have to accept that the conditions in our country are not right and our people are not happy,” said Hajsafi, who added that families of the victims “should know that we are with them, we support them and we sympathize with them.”

The many, many controversies surrounding the 2022 World Cup, explained (Vox)

Excellent summary of some of the major issues surrounding the World Cup. The article is way too long, information dense, and citation riddled to quote effectively. But here are the main subjects covered:

Controversy 1: Qatar’s bid was marred by accusations of corruption and bribery

Controversy 2: The tournament’s infrastructure has been built on the backs of low-paid migrant laborers

Controversy 3: Qatar is under fire for using the tournament to “sportswash” its record of human rights abuses

Controversy 4: FIFA is massaging the numbers on its sustainability pledge

US journalist Grant Wahl says he was detained in Qatar for rainbow shirt (Guardian)

US soccer journalist Grant Wahl says he was detained by security staff after he wore a rainbow shirt to USA’s World Cup opener against Wales.

Wahl, who works for CBS Sports and writes a popular Substack column, wore the shirt as a show of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community to the game at Qatar’s Ahmad bin Ali Stadium. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar.

However, he said a security guard told him the shirt was not allowed. Wahl said his phone was “forcibly ripped” from his hands by a guard as he tweeted about the incident. He said he was then detained for 25 minutes and told to remove his shirt, which a member of security staff said was “political”. He was also asked if he was from the UK.

Wahl says he told a New York Times journalist who was passing by what had happened and he was detained too before being let go shortly afterwards.

“Then a security commander approached me,” Wahl wrote in his Substack column. “He said they were letting me through and apologized. We shook hands. One of the security guards told me they were just trying to protect me from fans inside who could harm me for wearing the shirt … A Fifa rep later apologized to me as well.

“But the entire episode left me wondering: What’s it like for ordinary Qataris who might wear a rainbow shirt when the world isn’t watching here? What’s that like?”

Wahl said he was subsequently allowed to wear the shirt in the stadium.

A Wales LGBTQ+ supporters group said some of its members were forbidden from wearing rainbow hats at the same game.

Germany cover mouths and wear rainbows on kit in World Cup protest (Guardian)

A World Cup of protest and rancour has taken another incendiary turn with Germany’s players covering their mouths with their hands to suggest they had been gagged by football’s governing body, Fifa.

Their message was reinforced by the German interior minister, Nancy Faeser, who also wore a OneLove armband, which promotes tolerance, diversity and LGBTQ+ rights, as she sat next to Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino.

It was a calculated act of defiance against Fifa, who has warned seven nations, including England and Wales, that they will face sporting sanctions if their captains wear OneLove armbands during matches.

Six players, including captain Manuel Neuer and Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan, also wore Adidas boots with rainbow stitching during the team’s shock 2-1 defeat against Japan, while the entire German squad sported tops with rainbow colours on their sleeves in the warm up.

In a strongly worded statement, the Germans made clear their anger, telling Fifa: “We wanted to use our captain’s armband to take a stand for values that we hold in the Germany national team: diversity and mutual respect. Together with other nations, we wanted our voice to be heard.

“It wasn’t about making a political statement – human rights are non-negotiable,” it added. “That should be taken for granted, but it still isn’t the case. That’s why this message is so important to us. Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice. We stand by our position.”

Meanwhile, England are also understood to be monitoring the fallout from Germany’s decision closely, with the Football Association among the countries looking into whether it will be legally possible to challenge Fifa’s threat to impose sporting sanctions wearing the OneLove armband.

The FA is deeply unhappy that their captain Harry Kane faced the prospect of an instant booking had he donned it against Iran. Fifa has not specified what sporting sanctions would have meant but the FA was under the firm impression that Kane would have been booked.

“As a squad we all stand for it,” England’s goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford, said. “We all wanted Harry to wear it, but I think the decision got taken out of our hands as a squad and as players. If Harry wore it and got a yellow card and missed the next game it’s not going to be ideal for us.”

It remains to be seen if England’s players decide to follow their German counterparts by mounting a different form of protest before playing the USA tomorrow. Gareth Southgate attempted to draw a line under the issue after his side’s 6-2 win over Iran, arguing that he and his players should be allowed to concentrate on their performances on the pitch.

No truth to rumours Danish FA is planning to leave FIFA, says DBU

The rumour was being reported on by various tabloids, sports blogs, and less-than-reputable news organizations (like RT), and it was then spreading like wildfire on social media (esp reddit and twitter), but this seems to put all that firmly to bed.

Although in related news:
Danes won't support Infantino re-election after armband spat, says FA

FIFA charges Ecuador over fan chants at World Cup opener (AP)

Discriminatory chants allegedly by Ecuador fans at the World Cup opening game led FIFA to open the first disciplinary case of the tournament on Tuesday.

FIFA said the charge was brought “due to chants” at the game against Qatar on Sunday and cited the section of its disciplinary code dealing with discrimination.

The chants were reportedly directed at Chile, which brought a legal case ahead of the World Cup to try to take Ecuador’s place.

FIFA gave no timetable for dealing with the case against the Ecuadorian soccer federation, which is held responsible for fan behavior at games.

Ecuador fans also drew global attention to their chants in Spanish of “we want beer” during the team’s 2-0 win at Al Bayt Stadium. It was a reference to FIFA and Qatari organizers banning the sale of beer with alcohol at stadiums.