On the eve of the biggest sporting event in the world, the president of the organization that runs it tried making the case that criticism is an unjust activity.
“This one-sided moral lesson is just hypocrisy,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in an opening statement before the 2022 World Cup was to kick off in Qatar on Sunday morning.
In an hour-long speech, Infantino did the exact opposite of what so many were hoping for: he minimized Qatar’s decade-long exploitation of migrant workers, an estimated 6,500 of them who died building seven brand new stadiums in extreme conditions, he diminished the fears of LGBTQ+ individuals whose mere existence is illegal in the host country and punishable of up to seven years in prison, he claimed to understand what it felt like to be marginalized and, perhaps worse of all, he admitted no wrongdoing by FIFA or Qatar while blaming the Western world for their own deficiencies.
In Infantino’s mind, there’s no sense pointing out injustices in the world because we’re all guilty of them, so we might as well go on living without a care.
Welcome to the 2022 World Cup, one of the most controversial sporting events to ever take place.
Sunday was supposed to be a glorious day in the sporting world. Monday should be an even better day for the United States, with the U.S. Men’s National Team playing against Wales to kick off its first World Cup match since 2014 after failing to qualify for the 2018 tournament.
The United States have the youngest team in the 32-team field. Four years away from hosting the tournament, the U.S. have every reason to be optimistic about the progress it took to get here, their chances to advance out of a group that includes Wales, England and Iran, and a future that’ll include a guaranteed spot in the 2026 World Cup when this talented crop of young players will be four years more experienced.
Instead, this tournament will be a struggle to properly enjoy.
There was some hope that Infantino, as well as other leaders of FIFA and Qatar, would try to address some critical issues that have plagued the lead-up to this tournament. Instead, they made it worse.
On the issue of migrant workers who came from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with an estimated 6,500 of them who died due to poor working conditions, according to a report in The Guardian, Infantino downplayed the human rights violations and tried pointing fingers at the rest of Europe.
“I am European,” he told reporters in Qatar this weekend. “For what we have been doing for 3,000 years around the world, we should be apologizing for the next 3,000 years before giving moral lessons.
“If Europe really care about the destiny of these people, they can create legal channels – like Qatar did — where a number of these workers can come to Europe to work. Give them some future, some hope.”
On the issue of LGBTQ+ rights, which are nonexistent in Qatar as any displays of homosexuality — including internet activity — is met with an arrest as well as jail time, the FIFA president claimed that all were welcome at this year’s World Cup.
Worse, he made an opening statement in which he claimed to understand what it’s like to exist without human rights.
“Today I have very strong feelings,” Infantino said. “Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel (like) a migrant worker.
“I’m not Qatari, African, gay, disabled and I’m not really a migrant worker but I know what it means to be discriminated and bullied, as a foreign in a foreign country. As a child at school I was bullied because I had red hair and freckles. I was bullied for that.”
Being bullied for having freckles is the same thing as being jailed for your sexual orientation, according to one of the most powerful men in sports.
His entire speech was an act of defiance on behalf of the rich and powerful.
Why bother calling out those in charge for making decisions that negatively impact others? Might as well point the finger elsewhere, Infantino said.
It’s a disgusting display of whataboutism for a man who makes a salary in the millions and runs an organization that allegedly accepted $880 million in bribes for Qatar, a country the size of Connecticut with a soccer team that has never before qualified for the World Cup, to host the most lucrative and universally-watched tournament in sports.
The idea that we should ignore Qatar’s violations because we’ve all made violations of our own is idiotic. It’s that same idea that halts progress and impedes any meaningful change. Organizations and countries can’t be held accountable when it’s just as easy to point the finger elsewhere.
No matter what Infantino said, this tournament was going to be difficult to properly enjoy. But a little bit of awareness and some meaningful actions could’ve helped.
Instead, we’ll be watching this World Cup with one eye closed, looking away from the injustices and greed of a single organization, and of a leader who has no clue.
