if the heat managed to play a part in the death of this player... http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ecuadorian-soccer-star-dies-qatar-170758509--sow.html
Ouch! Yep, this couldn't be messier for Qatar. FIFPro is going to have a fit. That's the player's union. Man, I feel bad for the player's family!
Could have been anything, Qatar's ludicrous as a hosting sight, an epic joke, but who knows what this could have been. Many players have collapsed and died on the field in the past decade or so in numerous sports. Whether it was Cameroon's player in '03, that big time Cardinals pitcher Daryl Kile, Korey Stringer, could go on and on, Some deaths are heat/dehydrations related, some are drugs, some are simply a bad heart like Reggie Lewis or Hank Gathers. I think it's jumping to conclusions to just lay blame on the heat. Who knows? The autopsy should explain it.
You would boycott because someone died in Qatar for reasons not known yet? Whilst players die in other countries and don't get mention of boycotting? RIP FOE.
I think this is a fair point. ------------------------------------------------ To everyone: And in accordance with the concerns that led SwissGCZ to close the main Qatar thread, we're going to keep this thread strictly moderated. It's not going to be a place for baiting people that don't agree with you. It's not going to be a place for discussing the merits of religious beliefs. It's not going to be a place for extemporizing about politics. As we know from past experience, that all leads to a volatile mess that has little or nothing to do with the game. Stick to a discussion of the news please.
I believe it's pretty well confirmed that it was appendicitis. So I think it won't get too bad for the Qatar bid. Unless another heat related incident happens in which case people will remember that heat is very bad for appendicitis. However, this could have happened anywhere.
Apparently it took 2 hours for him to get any medical attention as well. I have no idea how FIFA plans on justifying a summer World Cup in 22
Things have been pretty quite as to the death. The most official word we have is from his Father-in-law cited here http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/christian-benitez-dies-aged-27-2101874
According to this Spanish language release the autopsy says cardiac insufficiency. No mention of appendicitis. http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/new...ampaign=rss&source=ESPNdeportesSECTION.FUTBOL
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...nitez-died-of-heart-failure-qatari-club-says/ relationship to the heat...or not... http://shermanheart.wordpress.com/2011/07/20/the-effect-extreme-heat-has-on-the-heart/
Heat or not, pro Qatar 2022 World Cup or not, bet your bottom dollar that FIFA will say 2022 World Cup must be played in Winter due to this issue. But going with the majority of footballing deaths happening in May/June/July cycle, then really they must ban top level competitive football from happening altogether if temperatures go over a certain limit. This also casts my mind back to the recently completed Indian I.League - they played games at 2pm in the afternoon at 34+ degrees because they didn't have floodlights in place to play at the much cooler night temperatures. Leagues and countries would always work outside of the recommendations, but maybe FIFA should then suspend them from being members of FIFA with all the consequences. Serious footballing bodies abide by it, it's the football bodies from outer posts that don't.. so be with it they go..players like Benitez wouldn't sign for a suspended country for example.
How hot was it anyway? It would be quite limiting in terms of candidates if they ruled out all nations with high summer temperatures.
ESPN reported that he died of heart failure, not complications from appendicitis. If true, this goes from a sad coincidence to a real story. It might mean that those wanting to move the Cup to the winter have a stronger case, or it might mean those saying a World Cup in Qatar is a crazy idea have a stronger case. We'll see. Moving the Cup to November is just about the craziest idea out there, even crazier than having it in January. At least January is the worst weather month in Europe, so Euro leagues could take the month off. A November cup destroys the calendar of almost every league in the world. Clubs will go absolutely apeshit. Whether they have enough clout to stop this, I don't know. The other possibility is the suggestion that the Cup be moved to November is a negotiating tactic on FIFA's part. Maybe the idea is to suggest something even worse for clubs than a January cup so FIFA and the clubs can "compromise" on a January cup.
Yes, Qatar's bid was, but I did say FIFA, it would be FIFA's call for the good of the game. Which nation would want to block it for FIFA's for the good of the game? They'd look stupid.
I think the only real option, and yet I have not heard it mentioned, is that Qatar needs to demonstrate a filled 40k stadium with 28C in the stands and 32C in the field for 90 minutes in late afternoon by 2018. If they don't produce it or get reasonably close then the WC goes to someone else. I think it would also be OK to always have games after sunset since a 6 pm starting time would work with most TV schedules.
Actually, they failed to comply to FIFA's own technical requirements to host the WC, even before the voting process took place to decide whom would be the 2022 WC host, by FIFA's own technical comitee who analized their bid, so if they afterwards fail in having a refrigerated stadium in place, no one can take away from them their right to host, as whom voted them as the host for the 2022 WC, knew this issues before even taking their vote, and despite it, they voted for their bid anyway. Besides, the only ones who set the issue of having refrigeration tech in their stadia, was Qatar. It wasn`t a requirement set by FIFA to grant them the WC.
I'm pretty sure that FIFA have reserved themselves the right to do whatever they want. Now whether the ExCo would ever vote for such a thing is another matter.