25 November,2022 07:07 AM IST | Mumbai | The Editorial
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A lot has already gone wrong with the football world cup in Qatar so far - from beer to the queer. Though Qatar agreed to allow sale of beer and the display of queer support signs in stadiums when it was awarded the event, it, unsurprisingly, walked back on these claims at the eleventh hour.
There is also the matter of human life - a conservative estimate of more than 6,500 migrant workers from India and the rest of the sub-continent were reportedly killed during the making of the stadiums. This alone should have been enough to have stripped Qatar of the privilege of hosting the event. But the tournament is well and truly off the ground.
If one thing still sticks out as week two of an exciting tourney looms, it is the pusillanimity of the players from European countries. First, they decided that their captains will sport the One Love armband in support of queer rights. But then, when FIFA cracked the whip and said the gesture will invite a yellow card, all these countries backed off. Apparently, they were okay with taking a monetary penalty, but decided to draw the line at a caution. Former Irish football legend Roy Keane hit the nail on the head when he said that captains should have worn the arm band in the first game and taken the yellow card as a sign of protest.
On Wednesday night, Germany sort of became the first country to veer off the European script, with players protesting by covering their mouths for the team photo. But even that came across as too little too late. Contrast this with the brave gesture of the Iranian team who refused to sing the national anthem in solidarity with protesters in their home country. This could earn them jail time, or worse, when they return to their country. But they still did it. That is what men with a strong spine look like.
