FIFA World Cup 2022: The People’s Game Is Dying
FIFA, Qatar, and Argentina: Rotten To The Core
As I get ready to watch the remaining World Cup 2022 quarter-finals today, including England v France, I was reminded of the joys and sadness surrounding football worldwide last night. The games so far have been fantastic right from the beginning. Major upsets and great entertainment. No one can truly predict the outcome of any of the games. Then we saw Argentina last night.
While the skill and talent of Lionel Messi were on show for all to see, the way the Argentinians play the "beautiful game" is very much in the same vein as the World Cup host country, Qatar. Brutality, cheating, money, disrespect to other humans, and mistrust in a game that should be fun and entertaining. Not doing all you can to cheat. Look back to 1966 and the sending-off of the Argentinian captain, Rattin. Panzeri, the maestro of Argentine football writers, recalled: “Rattin refused to leave the pitch and the rest of the players started all manner of arguments and play-acting, playing the victim, with the intent of shaping out of it a response of Argentine salvation and heroics.” This took over eleven minutes, and at one time, six players from Argentina walked off the field of play. And then Maradona and the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal. It wasn’t God; it was cheating. Maradona admitted, “I had to do it with my hand? I’m short, shorty, and the English goalkeeper (Peter) Shilton was 1:86 tall. No way could I outjump him with my head? That’s why I touched the ball with my left fist.”
Of course, the referee from Spain, Mateu Lahoz, didn’t help yesterday. He became the show himself. He handed out yellow cards like it was Christmas. Oh yes, it is—sixteen in total plus a red card. The most interesting yellow card he didn't give out should have gone to Messi for a blatant handball. Instead, Messi gets special treatment. A referee should be invisible during a game; no one should even know his name. That's when you know he is a great referee. A good example would be Michael Oliver from the Premier League. At only 37 years of age, he is already one of the top referees in the world.
Why would you give the World Cup to an almost non-football nation? Would the World Cup have been offered to Iceland, for example? No, why is that? Iceland hasn’t the billions of Dollars for FIFA. Recently Iceland has performed miracles creating nationwide centers to develop good footballers who now play worldwide. Indeed many more than Qatar. And yet money talks. I think we always knew that. But at this World Cup, it is no longer a secret.
Again, the United Kingdom has a multitude of excellent stadiums and infrastructure for a World Cup; however, it’s been almost 60 years since the competition was held there. The British may be above the underhanded antics that FIFA requires. Interestingly, the next World Cup returns to the USA, Mexico, and Canada. It will be the USA’s second World Cup and Mexico’s third! How does that work, FIFA? Oh yes, sorry, I forgot. Money.
Argentina may go on to win this World Cup, which would be a perfect fit as FIFA, Qatar, and Argentina all illustrate what is terrible about the people's game. But, unfortunately, it's no longer the people's game. It may be the beautiful game described by the greatest footballer ever to play, Pele, but the world leadership of the game at FIFA has created a cesspool, which is not beautiful at all. And we haven’t even mentioned the thousands of immigrant people that have died building the stadiums in Qatar. Oh yes, and the blatant human rights abuse. Let's be honest FIFA was never concerned about those issues. Money talks.
© Stephen G. Arrowsmith 2022
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