Sour and dispiriting is not how a World Cup should feel

Editorial: Though far too late now, it is still worth asking why the tournament came to be in Qatar, with all the drawbacks that decision has brought in its wake

A first round Carabao Cup tie has more joy and goodwill surrounding it (PA)

In the end, the prospect of distorting their games for the sake of a multi-coloured One Love captain’s armband proved too much for the governing bodies of football in England, Wales, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Harry Kane and his counterparts couldn’t risk a statutory yellow card for the sake of a political gesture, and an alternative, Fifa-approved replacement is being used instead. Obviously, the Qataris overreacted, as if an armband was about to unleash moral turpitude across their land and lead to the overthrow of the al-Thani dynasty. Absurd.

The OneLove gesture was well-intentioned, and suggested originally by a Fifa working group in support of inclusion and diversity. Harsher critics derided it, and other initiates such as taking the knee, as purely “performative”, with little actual impact on the conduct of the tournament, let alone the domestic policies of the Emirate – an absolute monarchy where the ban on same-sex relationships is not about to be rescinded because some footballers find it offensive.

It might have been more emphatic if the European clubs had flown home as global public disquiet about the Qatari regime grew. That would certainly have had more impact but, again, it wouldn’t have made any immediate difference to the plight of LGBT+ people or migrant workers in Qatar who are so routinely denied rights and maltreated.

The only good thing about hosting the World Cup, ironically, is that the world is far more aware of the suppression of human rights in Qatar, and indeed across the Gulf region. It has been a huge own goal in geo-political terms, delighting enemies near and far.

Though far too late now, it is still worth asking why the tournament came to be in Qatar, with all the drawbacks that decision has brought in its wake. “Money” is the short answer, but of course that merely begs further questions, especially given what we now know about Fifa’s morally rickety governance. It is striking that even Sepp Blatter now admits that Qatar was an unsuitable choice. 

The point at which the Qatar tournament should have been revisited can be timed with some precision – April 2016, when Fifa promulgated a new article in its statutes, which declares: “Fifa is committed to respecting all internationally recognised human rights and shall strive to promote the protection of these rights.” This commitment is further defined in Fifa’s Human Rights Policy and in various public pronouncements by Fifa bigwigs.

Six years ago, in other words, Qatar should have been placed on notice about its human rights deficit; or, better still, informed that the tournament would have to be relocated. At that point, Qatar – with so much invested in the project – might at least have cleaned up its act for a few years. If not, then Fifa should have taken their ball home, so to speak.

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As things stand, the World Cup will stagger on, PR disaster followed by organisational incompetence, day by day. It has been, thus far, a curiously bloodless affair, drained of its passions as well as deprived of beer, and with none of the usual anticipation and excitement associated with the competition.

There is something artificial about the megastadia in the desert that has induced a flat atmosphere, one where players and fans alike increasingly feel as if they are being used in a $200bn exercise in “sportswashing”, which of course they are – albeit the clumsy propaganda has backfired badly on Qatar and Fifa.

For everyone involved, including hapless sponsors such as Budweiser, Coca-Cola, BYJU’S and Kia Motors, and celebrities such as Morgan Freeman and David Beckham, it has proved a rather sour experience. It is not how such a tournament should feel. A first-round Carabao Cup tie has more joy and goodwill surrounding it. What happens off the field can affect what happens on the pitch and, in Qatar, it’s dispiriting.

As the England Football Supporters’ Association pleads: “Never again should a World Cup be handed out solely on the basis of money and infrastructure.”