What exactly is unfortunate about that statement? Do you have reading comprehension issues? He is criticizing FIFA for the way they handled the communication with the members of the executive committee vs. communication through the media. Not with one word is he addressing Qatar in that quote. He is saying that FIFA had told them that the exact voting details would not be known, but that they then released them to the media instead of to the executive committee, and that because of that, Australia and England have been embarrassed, because everyone knows how few votes they got. What exactly is your problem with that statement? What did you not understand? Do you need help?
Well, FIFA is in a pinch... I do wonder what is the real angle for the US lead investigation into because it certainly seems like they took their sweet time. Both Russian and Qatari bids to be investigated by the FBI (the Swiss are also launching their own investigation). Sepp Blatter steps down after winning an election against a Jordanian prince. And now Qatari's Foreign Minister, Khaled al-Attiya, is alleging "prejudice and racism" as motivating factors. Nevermind the hundreds of alleged deaths involved in building the Qatar world cup facilities (it's only 2015). Oh, the intrigue.
Thanks for chiming in with the stupid take on things. The bribery and corruption in FIFA aren't really the Robin Hood-like windfalls for developing countries that you operate under the misconception that they are. The stimulus for Trinidad that their delegate siphoned off huge amounts of cash while helping to award the world cup to South Africa doesn't really help too many poor people in South Africa or Trindidad, other than the direct bribe recipients. This is mostly because it's highly debatable whether the economic benefits of building white elephant stadiums and the attendant infrastructure with public money to use for 2 weeks are worth the costs. And the debate is whether it's a bad idea, or an unconscionable idea. To add insult to injury, most of these projects are themeselves laden with a layer of graft and corruption.
I feel like it is disingenuous to link these deaths to the World Cup/FIFA. Qatar (and Dubai) have a horrific track record when it comes to migrant workers
Why is it disingenuous? Did the deaths occur while building the stadiums, or didn't they? And yes, it is part of a larger problem of racism and complete disregard of human rights, but that is even more of a reason FIFA's decision is highly questionable. And by the way, Platini would be the WORST successor to Blatter. He is knee-deep in all of this himself.
FIFA linked the deaths to the world cup when they awarded it. They also increased the deaths. The insane part is the thousands of deaths are just part of the story, that is just the end game. They escaped the miserable slave life.
I'm listening! LOL. True. If the FBI and the U.S. Soccer Federation would TRULY want this "fair", they'd let any other country get the bid instead of the U.S.A.... but they're only in this because they lost out the bid to bring the Cup's money back in the vote of 2010. Blazer and the rest of the U.S. folks are just as corrupt. Shouldn't it go to a country which has NEVER hosted it before? Greece, Portugal, Paraguay... even Canada!
Could you imagine if that was the death rate in the United States? There would be large scale protests and discussions of how evil the West is...... but it happened in an Arab nation, far away.... we have to just respect they do things different.... What a joke.
Hey, man... that's MY point I'm trying to give the U.S. fans over in the "Other Sports" thread! Find your own!
Makes me wonder about all the other infrastructure built in Qatar - including the large LNG facilities that export to Europe and Asia. Perhaps another argument for US LNG exports.
Considering FIFA makes 80% of it's revenue from Europe, N Amer & S Amer yeah get that money back to right countries. This sh-ts been going on in the Arabian Peninsula for decades now. Except no one gave any f-cks untill the World Cup spotlight. Whether the World Cup is still held there or not the Gulf Arab culture, value system & money will continue importing slave labor.
Why is it disingenuous? FIFA voted to accept the bid by Qatar in which it agreed to undertake massive capital improvements on FiFAs behalf with full knowledge of the slave labor like conditions and human rights abuses that existed in Qatar then and continue to exist now. That is about as complicit as it gets, not even considering the suspected bribery and corruption it took to get them there.
Is the onus on FIFA or is it on the host country? I'd argue that latter, but it seems you guys would place the blame on both equally. My major problem with this is that folks find it easy to blame Blatter for his BS, but go on vacation to Dubai and support their ridiculous track record. FIFA has plenty of other stuff to be blamed for; the world cup will come and go but the murders will continue
If you KNOW that the host country has a track record of importing veritable slave labor for builidng projects in horrendous conditions - you agree to accept their offer to have your party at their house, where they agree to undertake a massive slew of building projects ENTIRELY ON YOUR BEHALF, at their own expense - you ( you, in this case, being a monumentally,notoriously corrupt racket), as those projects are built, hear many, many, many reports of ONGOING ABUSES, which are promptly obfuscated/ignored as is your custom, and you do nothing to stop it, rather you double down on having your plans - it's obvious that, by most definitions, you bear some stretch of moral/ethical culpability for such ongoing abuses. Your argument appears to be that "well others who do business there are also complicit" - You're probably correct there, but the degree of culpability that falls upon someone who stays at the Burj Dubai vs. the people who built the Burj Dubai is distinctly tilted towards the latter. Is Qatar culpable as well? Probably more so than FIFA? Of course it is, nobody is arguing that it is not. Of course it will - but FIFA was founded as, and currently portrays itself as a humanitarian, non-profit organization, with some vague "uplift the human spirit through sport" type mission. As such it's really not allowed to take the "well murders gonna murder" defense the same way that other actors are - particualrly when the sanctioning bad behavior isn't done to further the game or the interests thereof - but rather to facilitate the industrial-scale racketeering & graft operation that appears to be the main purpose of most of its operatoins.
