FIFA president Gianni Infantino hit out at criticism of Qatar from Europe on the eve of the World Cup.
The game’s global governing body has been attacked for its decision to take the finals to Qatar, where the treatment of migrant workers and the rights of LGBTQ+ people have been in the spotlight.
Ahead of the opening game of the tournament on Sunday, Infantino said: ‘We have told many, many lessons from some Europeans, from the western world.
‘I think for what we Europeans have been doing the last 3,000 years we should be apologising for next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons to people.’
Infantino added: ‘Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arabic. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel (like) a migrant worker.
‘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, 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.
‘What do you do then? You try to engage, make friends. Don’t start accusing, fighting, insulting, you start engaging. And this is what we should be doing.’
Fuck off. Seriously, stick your pious, hypocritical posturing where the sun don’t shine. These scumbags are evil and corrupt. The human rights record is appalling. They killed around 6,000 people building the stadia for your stupid little tournament, so criticising them is perfectly correct. You don’t get to lecture the rest of us. Discrimination is a good thing, not a bad one. I actively discriminate against evil regimes, people and cults, so I will never travel to any Islamic theocracy. This is discrimination and I’m more than happy to keep discriminating. Likewise, I discriminate against football by making a point of not watching it. Oh, and I ain’t apologising to anyone for despising Islam.
I would add that the man’s surname is apt, because this really is infantile drivel on a grand scale. This ridiculous spectacle is the gift that keeps on giving. Not least the contortions the virtue-signallers have to go through to appease a state that abhors everything they stand for. Popcorn, anyone?
The number of 6000 corresponds to all the construction projects in Qatar, not just the stadia which represented about 2% of the total. Not a safety record to be proud of but why the outrage now? The argument is that the wc has helped improve conditions. That said, if migrant workers go there, let’s also be outraged about their countries of origin where conditions are such that they have to go to qatar to earn a living.
Also, I’m amazed at the number of people in power that have been allegedly bullied. We’re going to run out of bullies soon.
The figure is appalling however you cut it. There is no justification for the kind of death statistics that would have shamed the industrial revolution.
As for now? The hosting of this tournament brings it into sharp relief. People like me have always been horrified by these medieval countries and their backward behaviour. Now the right-on virtue-signallers are having to justify supping with the Devil. Sit back, enjoy the show and crack open the alcohol free Bud.
There is some very confused logic in his statement. He appears to be sticking up for Qatar by standing alongside the very people that Qatar is being accused of persecuting, how the hell does that work? Added to the whataboutery against the stuff Europeans perhaps used to do but don’t anymore. I suppose it’s maybe necessary to tie yourself into such mental knots when trying to defend the indefensible.
Confused doesn’t even begin to describe it. It’s word salad.
‘Of the day’ – I trust this will be a regular feature, then?
So many arseholes, so little time.
“I would add that the man’s surname is apt, because this really is infantile drivel on a grand scale.”
When I saw it in a Babylon Bee piece, it seemed so appropriate I honestly thought they’d made it up.
What’s baffling is that people like that never seem to realise how obvious it is that their statements are pure sycohantic posturing. Do they never read this stuff back to themselves?
On a side note, Quatar seem to have come up with some “interesting” apps that supporters will need to get into the matches: https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/16/germany_world_cup_apps/ . Seems like an event to stay well clear of.
Of course they don’t read it back to themselves. Too busy counting their money.
I think you’re all missing what’s really going on here. It’s a classic example of a dead cat strategy:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_cat_strategy
In this case, Infantino needs to create a distraction from FIFA corruption and human rights abuses in Qatar. So, he launches a hyperbolic attack on Europe to get people talking about that instead. If you respond directly to his specious accusations, you are doing what he wants.
Of course, he is also signalling to authoritarian regimes that he will look after their interests, so they should back him in FIFA’s internal power struggles.
The wider lesson is that every public statement by a politician or bureaucrat should be assumed to be a calculated tactic until proved otherwise. The first question is always “what does he gain by saying that?”.