I won't play Sun City! ... Qatar? Sure why not?

[njligernj]

Is it just me or does nobody seem to care all that much about Qatar and it's increasing role in football and culture in general? I know people might grumble a little bit (and sadly the most vocal critics in a pub might just be racists) but generally nobody gets any slack for "buying in" to anything they do. They sponsor teams, have academies and of course are hosting a World Cup. In the 80's many entertainers refused to play Sun City in S. Africa to make a point about human rights. These days you really don't hear anyone saying anything (maybe I've missed it).

It's not completely uncovered in the media but a google search turned up a lacklustre result set with huge gaps in the dates of the stories ... it's not the kind of results you'd get for anything anyone really cares about.

Qatar is ranked as "not free" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Qatar and has numerous human rights violations.

Then again people protested/boycotted Olympics in the past but the Chinese Olympics was mostly free of any significant boycotts.

People will say "oh it's better than the rest of the middle east." They think that's a point. It's not.

Is it the worst place on earth? No. But N. Korea isn't hosting a World Cup. When Denis Rodman went to N. Korea it was generally considered insane -- celebrities and public figures go to Qatar all the time and it's like a trip to NYC or anywhere else. It's considered a fairly cool destination and probably will get more popular in time. The WC might have been a good carrot on a stick to push through more changes to their laws but that does not appear to have been a priority for anyone (too busy counting money).

Algeria, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Peru all have a higher GDP than Qatar (as do 50 countries total). It's not an especially rich country -- it just doesn't have to do the things "real countries" do with their money. All the money goes to a few people. They are building WC stadiums with what some people consider slave labour.

So what's the deal? Am I overreacting or is it a little troubling? Should an FA threaten a boycot (at least as a means to try to push through some additional human rights laws) or is like whatevs?

 

[sheeds]

The Apartheid regime in South Aftica was an easy bad guy , going up against huge financial powerhouses is a whole different ball game in my opinion .

I have to agree though I find it all a little uncomfortable .

 

[Steve0]

Let's stir the pot...

Boycotts of South Africa were ok as they were protesting the actions of whites, bocyotting Qatar (and the rest) would be seen as "racist" and "Islamophobic".

This is a definite factor.

 

[sheeds]

Let's stir the pot...

Boycotts of South Africa were ok as they were protesting the actions of whites, bocyotting Qatar (and the rest) would be seen as "racist" and "Islamophobic".

This is a definite factor.

I agree with The first bit and its what i was alluding to in my post although clearly the boycott was right and certainly made a difference . I don't agree with the second part to be honest whether it's Qatar or china for me the key is money or political power rather than race .

 

[Librarian]

The strings hurt my fingers

 

[Blue 1]

Money talks. Sheeds is right.

Companies only stopped investing in apartheid SA when it became apparent they had more to lose by doing so than by not doing so.

 

[Steve0]

I agree with The first bit and its what i was alluding to in my post although clearly the boycott was right and certainly made a difference . I don't agree with the second part to be honest whether it's Qatar or china for me the key is money or political power rather than race .

Yeah I meant to add the lure of money is a factor, probably more so. Some people even went to apartheid SA for the money - the cricketers and whatnot.

 

[Dell Boy]

I agree - almost the whole of the middle east stinks for human rights. I did a bit of work in Dubai and Bahrain a while back and could take it for a week or so. I then got offered a permanent job at the height of the recession in Abu Dhabi. Would have meant giving up my business and everything. The money was unreal but went out there for two weeks and found it was definitely not for me.

The class system there is crazy. Essentially you have:

1. Arab upper classes
2. Arbab nationals
3. Acceptable first world foreigners
4. The scum that do the cooking, cleaning and all the manual work

 

[steken1]

I don't think too many people REALLY care about human rights abuses if I'm honest. Or anything else that they don't see.

Racism is ugly when you see it first hand as most in developed countries will have at some point. It evokes different emotions to what reading a small buried article will do.

I also don't think many football fans view homophobia as a big issue either which is why there's no big grumble about them getting the world cup.

 

[Dell Boy]

I also don't think many football fans view homophobia as a big issue either which is why there's no big grumble about them getting the world cup.

Great point. Imagine if that was the same issue over racism? Blatter's comments were sickening re gays can go but not be gay in public or something.

I imagine a gay person could sue the hell out of the FA and UK travel companies once those tickets go on sale here.

 

[Mikey_Fitzgerald]

Russia are just as dodgy as Qatar too to be honest. There's a lot of human rights issues there as well. Both those countries getting World Cups raises some serious questions about FIFA's decision process (And this isn't me being bitter because England didn't get it, despite having the best bid)

 

[Bluenose1995]

Let's stir the pot...

Boycotts of South Africa were ok as they were protesting the actions of whites, bocyotting Qatar (and the rest) would be seen as "racist" and "Islamophobic".

This is a definite factor.

agree mate your only racist if your white.

 

[CanadaToffee]

This is a really good thread. I grew up in SA during those years, and there's no doubt that the boycotts and sanctions played a huge role in helping bring down the apartheid government. Now, if only that had all happened a decade or so earlier...but as mentioned in this thread it was really only when companies saw more financial downside than upside in staying there that they began to divest, and politicians in Europe and the US likewise only truly jumped on the issue when it became more likely to gain than lose votes.

However: what really started the ball rolling was the sports boycott. It started with football, then cricket, then (belatedly and half-heartedly) rugby (union). Those sports boycotts, more so cricket than football, were the vanguard of changing world opinion. And FIFA was the very first international body to sanction South Africa.

Really tragic to see the same organization in the modern era. Unlike Jessie J, for them its all about the money, money, money.

 

[Whitebootman]

Great point. Imagine if that was the same issue over racism? Blatter's comments were sickening re gays can go but not be gay in public or something.

I imagine a gay person could sue the hell out of the FA and UK travel companies once those tickets go on sale here.

Interesting point. As homosexuality is illegal In Qatar Sepp Blatter said that Gay couples "should refrain from any sexual activities". What he should have added is that sex outside of marrage is also illegal in Qatar and unmarried couples should also 'refrain from any sexual activities'. Just to be fair to all fans, and to avoid applying homophobic double standards.