W/regards to Israel, I completely forgot that Al Qaeda had a crazy terrorist plot against France '98 that would have been horrific if successful.
Probably referring to MENA - i.e. middle east north africa. This is a common reference to the region.
Discussing Islamic Cultures having a chance to host. Other than Qatar, I believe the only other Muslim majority countries to make a run at hosting have been Morocco and Tunisia. If I'm forgetting one, let me know.
The rumors of this have a little more credibility that the last sighting of The Loch Ness Monster, in other words, NONE. I do not believe it is even remotely possible that the match is rigged. The Ecuadorian players are actually VERY full of pride at getting to the WC. However I don't think that Ecuador will win any match against anyone but, maybe, Qatar as they are extremely weak as well, There "may" have been some shenanigans involving getting Ecuador and Qatar in the same group so Qatar has a chance in at least one match but that is unimportant as it benefits Ecuador as well. The only thing it would hurt is that it might allow a very weak team to advance to the knockout stage but that often happens anyway. I know that the host country gets an automatic bid and always has to give minor countries a reason to try to bribe their way into hosting the WC. I believe host countries should NOT be given a free ride into the tournament. I cheapens the tournament and, mostly, allows very bad teams to get in. I think every team should qualify. But that is not going to happen if for no other reason than FIFA's corruption. Having countries with poor soccer hosting helps generate more and larger bribes. I do wonder how many people will get put behind bars (do prisons/jails in Qatar actually use bars or do they use some other deterrent to escapes) for failing to understand Islamic law. That will generate more bribe revenue as well. I have concerns that Qatar is not hosting the WC for the soccer but rather to show the world just how an Islamic state operates and how oppressive it can be.
If you had years to plan to attend the WC in a strict Muslim country and spent many thousands on airfare, hotels, tickets, took time off, etc, you’re unlikely to cut your trip short because you can’t drink at the game, when you can still drink before the game and after the game. I would think most drinking happens after a game anyway. Although it appears there’s a few alcoholics who plan their day’s activities around booze so I won’t speak for them. Other than to say, if you’re an alcoholic why would you go to Qatar in the first place.
lol are u literally not paying attention that makes ZERO sense they couldn't do it on their own and they would have a lot of the same issue qatar is having. at the end of the day certain countries and regions just can't hold a wc.
I don’t really drink, but I think that them changing the rules after money has already been spent would make me wary of other things and more likely to fly somewhere else to watch the tournament where i don’t have to worry about offending someone over something I am unaware of and ending up in a Qatari prison.
Agreed. There’s no way that a nation who aren’t bringing a player to the WC because he might not have been eligible for them but helped them qualify would fix a game for FIFA and Qatar whom you admit are corrupt.
In 2002, Utah hosted the 2002 Winter Olympic Games which has the strictest drinking laws in the nation due to the high Mormon population. No public drinking, hidden bottles, restrictions on purchases, no purchase of alcohol on Sundays, no bars at Salt Lake City’s airport, etc. But instead of maintaining their strict drinking laws, Utah officials parked their Mormon based drinking laws and the beer and liquor flowed during the Olympics. Too bad Qatar couldn’t have done the same thing.
I kind of hate to say this but, in general, Mormons are MUCH more pragmatic in the application of their "strict" rules than their Islamic counterparts. To put just one example of this is that the Mormons have never, at least not yet, tried to institute the extremely harsh penalties that we find throughout the Islamic world for failing to abide by religious "laws." But Islamic law is much more "strict" than Mormon teachings and, as far as I know, no one in a position of power in Utah calls for the death penalty for violating the lesser tenants of "Mormon law." And, yes, forbidding booze is one of the lesser parts of the law. On an additional point: I started this thread to point out how untrustworthy Qatar is and to help caution people to not violate their laws/rules. I did not intend that there should be condemnation of Qatar for this move. My only surprise is that Qatar allows sales and consumption of booze at all. But money clearly mitigates religious values. I am surprised that the matches are allowed to be played during traditional prayer times. But Qatar is clearly, as is Utah, only religious if it does not cut into their income.
If I'm being honest here, I don't really care about this one. Other than the fact that they made the decision (or announced it, at least) two days before the thing kicked off. In most places in the world, drinking alcohol at sporting events is allowed and frankly encouraged. Well, if you're going to hold the biggest sporting event in the world in a place where the local laws/customs are different, I don't think it's completely out of line to expect people to conform to them a little bit. There's a lot of things about Qatar where that's NOT the case. Treatment of gay people being top of the list. Not being able to drink beer seems pretty far down my list.
After considering that Qatar gave up the chance to further exploit the heathen westerners with $30 beers to preserve a more modest and lawful experience for all, I have to say I’m not all that against it.
Qatar deceived their attendees by initially stating that beer sales at stadiums would be allowed and then suddenly 48 hours before the first match they reversed their decision. Unfortunately many attendees would have never gone to Qatar had they known that alcohol would be banned but now they’re stuck with their flights, lodgings and ticket costs. I wonder what other surprises the Qatar government will bring to the tournament.
Yeah, that’s the part about it I can’t stomach. It’s a very public power move to remind everyone who is in charge and who is in control.
So what about the high end hospitality suites at the stadiums where the consumption of alcohol including spirits, beer, and fine wines are being allowed? Islamic law is less strict at hospitality suites?
Is hard to drink before the games. The good thing about 2 games per day is that you spent your time traveling between games, so less time to drink. But it does svck not being able to drink at stadiums between games.
Qatar is the last nation on earth that should have been allowed to host the World Cup. They don’t have the climate, they don’t have the athleticism, and they never had the cultures of the West to host such an event. Their World Cup stadiums in Qatar will rot when this this tournament is over.