Football (Soccer) Thread

[Maladict]

Never change, Louis 

Van Gaal: "I am the one who decided the squad numbers this time and they are based on the age of the players."

• You are joking right?

Van Gaal: "No. I don't make jokes during a press conference. It's based on their age."

To his credit he also stated the WC shouldn't be in Qatar and fans are right to boycott it.

[Sheilbh]

I slightly wonder if Qatar is regretting this? Seems to me that sportswashing only works when no-one's noticing - e.g. arguably Man City and PSG before the Qatar World Cup and Saudi takeover of Newcastle made everyone pay more attention/think more about what's going on.

Just looking at the news today the Guardian has a story about Qatari officials trying to stop a Danish broadcast and threatening to break their camera (all recorded) which the World Cup organisers have now apologised for. There's a story about Qatar physically abusing gay Qataris and then recruiting them to act as agents to track down other bits of Qatar's LGBT scene, as well as the story of a trans woman who was kept in solitary confinement for two months, severely beaten and not given medical help.

Even in my world, I saw today that several European data protection regulators have issued statements telling fans going to Qatar not to download any official apps because the ones they've looked at have serious privacy and security concerns (not necessarily a surprise given how, as the Pegasus project revealed, Gulf States are massive purchasers of spyware).

I hope the media doesn't let the football stop reporting these types of stories.

[HVC]

Never change, Louis 

Van Gaal: "I am the one who decided the squad numbers this time and they are based on the age of the players."

• You are joking right?

Van Gaal: "No. I don't make jokes during a press conference. It's based on their age."

To his credit he also stated the WC shouldn't be in Qatar and fans are right to boycott it.

What happens if players have the same age? 24a and 24b?

[Duque de Bragança]

Never change, Louis 



To his credit he also stated the WC shouldn't be in Qatar and fans are right to boycott it.

That's much more than can be said for Deschamps, Lloris, not to mention the president of the FFF, the infamous Noël Le Graet.

[Syt]

There was a thread on German subreddit from a Scotsman who took part in a local pub's World Cup game (you pay 1 GBP, draw a participating team from the hat, and whoever has the winner takes the pot home). He drew Germany and asked if they stood any chance in the tournament.

About 2/3 - 3/4 of replies were variations on "World Cup? What World Cup?" And "World Cup? It's Winter. There's no World Cups in Winter." With a few saying, "Oh, there's not been any World Cups since 2014, as far as we're aware."

[The Larch]

About 2/3 - 3/4 of replies were variations on "World Cup? What World Cup?" And "World Cup? It's Winter. There's no World Cups in Winter." With a few saying, "Oh, there's not been any World Cups since 2014, as far as we're aware."

Which is hillarious considering that so many fans and pundits consider Germany a perennial candidate for the trophy. 

[Josquius]

I slightly wonder if Qatar is regretting this? Seems to me that sportswashing only works when no-one's noticing - e.g. arguably Man City and PSG before the Qatar World Cup and Saudi takeover of Newcastle made everyone pay more attention/think more about what's going on.

Just looking at the news today the Guardian has a story about Qatari officials trying to stop a Danish broadcast and threatening to break their camera (all recorded) which the World Cup organisers have now apologised for. There's a story about Qatar physically abusing gay Qataris and then recruiting them to act as agents to track down other bits of Qatar's LGBT scene, as well as the story of a trans woman who was kept in solitary confinement for two months, severely beaten and not given medical help.

Even in my world, I saw today that several European data protection regulators have issued statements telling fans going to Qatar not to download any official apps because the ones they've looked at have serious privacy and security concerns (not necessarily a surprise given how, as the Pegasus project revealed, Gulf States are massive purchasers of spyware).

I hope the media doesn't let the football stop reporting these types of stories.

I have to suspect with Qatar a big part of what they're hoping to achieve is the world realising they exist. So mission accomplished there even if many in the west realise they exist and they're horrid.

[Syt]

Which is hillarious considering that so many fans and pundits consider Germany a perennial candidate for the trophy. 

Often not quite justified (and yet still sometimes advancing quite far, but not so much luck in recent years if I look at the results since 2000 ... I haven't really followed the team for a while now, though; used to be I wouldn't miss a match of theirs, and keep Saturdays free to watch Bundesliga - turning more and more into my dad who ranted in the 90s that the sport he used to love had been ruined by BIG MONEY(TM), turning players into spoiled millionaires ... and the 90s look quite tame in that regard in hindsight ).

[Josephus]

You guys watch the FIFA doc on Netflix. Starts off slowly but eps. 3 and 4 are well worth it.

[Gups]

I slightly wonder if Qatar is regretting this? Seems to me that sportswashing only works when no-one's noticing - e.g. arguably Man City and PSG before the Qatar World Cup and Saudi takeover of Newcastle made everyone pay more attention/think more about what's going on.

They definately are - and very angry at teh coverage. We may be seeing this through western tinted spectacles though. Not sure if the bad publicity is worldwide.

[Duque de Bragança]

I slightly wonder if Qatar is regretting this? Seems to me that sportswashing only works when no-one's noticing - e.g. arguably Man City and PSG before the Qatar World Cup and Saudi takeover of Newcastle made everyone pay more attention/think more about what's going on.

They definately are - and very angry at teh coverage. We may be seeing this through western tinted spectacles though. Not sure if the bad publicity is worldwide.

For what it's worth, Le Monde says it's mostly a European phenomenon, possibly shared by North America (excluding Mexico).

Mondial 2022 au Qatar : l'indignation de l'Occident ne s'étend pas au reste du monde
Très présentes en Europe, la défiance et les critiques à l'encontre du pays hôte de la Coupe du monde ont bien moins d'écho dans le reste du monde.

https://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2022/11/14/mondial-2022-au-qatar-des-polemiques-a-geographie-variable_6149710_3242.html

From Le Monde's once extensive network abroad of journalists.

Par Eric Albert(Londres, correspondance), Lilia Blaise(Tunis, correspondance), Isabelle Dellerba(Sydney, correspondance), Flora Genoux(Buenos Aires, correspondante), Ghazal Golshiri, Anne-Françoise Hivert(Malmö (Suède), correspondante régionale), Marine Jeannin(Abidjan, correspondance), Aude Lasjaunias, Philippe Mesmer(Tokyo, correspondance), Théa Ollivier( Dakar, correspondance) et Thomas Wieder(Berlin, correspondant)

[Josquius]

Any of our Iberian posters care to have a quick google of latin american news?

I decided to have a quick Japanese google, oh how I miss their unchanging vintage websites, and, well....

https://www.nhk.or.jp/kaisetsu-blog/100/476364.html


google translated:

Awareness of human rights required for the opening of the soccer World Cup
Only five days left until the start of the World Cup Qatar, a football festival held once every four years. Interest in the tournament, which is said to be watched by 3.5 billion people around the world, is growing in Japan and other countries, but on the other hand, there are persistent voices, mainly in Europe, that are critical of Qatar's holding on the grounds of human rights issues. Think about sports and human rights before the opening of the World Cup.

The Middle East's first football World Cup will be held on the 20th of this month, with 32 representatives competing from the dawn of the 21st Japan time to the 18th of next month. Usually, the tournament is held from June to July when the major European leagues are off season, and the Japan-Korea tournament 20 years ago was held from the end of May to the end of June. However, in Qatar, which is located in the desert region of the Middle East, it is not uncommon for the temperature to exceed 40 degrees Celsius in June and July, which is dangerous not only for the players but also for the spectators, so the tournament was held from November to December. In addition, a cooling system has been installed in the stadium as a countermeasure against the heat, and the organizing committee of the tournament is appealing that it is the world's first comfortable tournament with air conditioning.

However, as the opening draws near, there is a growing movement in Europe to oppose the holding of the games in Qatar.

In France, major cities such as Paris, Marseille and Lyon have canceled public viewings, and some newspapers have announced that they will not be covering the World Cup.
In Spain, Barcelona announced the cancellation of public viewing.
Some sports bars in Germany and Belgium have also announced that they will no longer broadcast matches. Football is Europe's most popular sport, and the suspension of public viewings is unusual.

The reason why I don't watch my favorite soccer is a human rights issue.

<snip>

[Sheilbh]

They definately are - and very angry at teh coverage. We may be seeing this through western tinted spectacles though. Not sure if the bad publicity is worldwide.

For sure on some points. I've certainly seen coverage of some of the human  rights issues in the Latin American press, but half the Brazil team seem to back Bolsonaro so I think it all resonates differently by country and society.

Having said that I think the sense that it is a uniquely corrupt and bought World Cup is more pervasive. It is a tiny country that had basically no football infrastructure or history - I think that aspect of the weirdness of Qatar hosting is probably universal.

[Duque de Bragança]

Any of our Iberian posters care to have a quick google of latin american news?

I decided to have a quick Japanese google, oh how I miss their unchanging vintage websites, and, well....

https://www.nhk.or.jp/kaisetsu-blog/100/476364.html


google translated:

Awareness of human rights required for the opening of the soccer World Cup


Only five days left until the start of the World Cup Qatar, a football festival held once every four years. Interest in the tournament, which is said to be watched by 3.5 billion people around the world, is growing in Japan and other countries, but on the other hand, there are persistent voices, mainly in Europe, that are critical of Qatar's holding on the grounds of human rights issues. Think about sports and human rights before the opening of the World Cup.

The Middle East's first football World Cup will be held on the 20th of this month, with 32 representatives competing from the dawn of the 21st Japan time to the 18th of next month. Usually, the tournament is held from June to July when the major European leagues are off season, and the Japan-Korea tournament 20 years ago was held from the end of May to the end of June. However, in Qatar, which is located in the desert region of the Middle East, it is not uncommon for the temperature to exceed 40 degrees Celsius in June and July, which is dangerous not only for the players but also for the spectators, so the tournament was held from November to December. In addition, a cooling system has been installed in the stadium as a countermeasure against the heat, and the organizing committee of the tournament is appealing that it is the world's first comfortable tournament with air conditioning.

However, as the opening draws near, there is a growing movement in Europe to oppose the holding of the games in Qatar.

In France, major cities such as Paris, Marseille and Lyon have canceled public viewings, and some newspapers have announced that they will not be covering the World Cup.
In Spain, Barcelona announced the cancellation of public viewing.
Some sports bars in Germany and Belgium have also announced that they will no longer broadcast matches. Football is Europe's most popular sport, and the suspension of public viewings is unusual.

The reason why I don't watch my favorite soccer is a human rights issue.

<snip>

Seems close enough to what I see A Folha de São Paulo, one of the references of Brazilian press. They do mention the controversy and scandals, a bit buried in their coverage of A Copa do Mundo

https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/esporte/2022/11/depois-de-12-anos-de-criticas-e-denuncias-o-qatar-realiza-sua-copa-do-mundo.shtml

After 12 years of criticism and extremely negative reports (denunciations literaly) Qatar organises its Wahhabi World Cup

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folha_de_S.Paulo

[FunkMonk]

Making the rounds on socials now that Qatar have bribed the Ecuadorian players to throw the opening match on Sunday.