“Two parallel universes to the controversies of the World Cup”

It seems that there are two parallel universes when it comes to the controversies surrounding this World Cup.

For the hosts Qatar and those spectators who have come here or who are watching in the Arab world, which has a large Muslim majority, it is about religion, culture, norms of the region and above all respect that they do not feel. you are achieving

Tension seems to be the perpetual undercurrent of the tournament so far and it’s all played out here on the world’s biggest stages.

Wednesday, Germany the players covered their mouths during the team photo before their first World Cup game against Japan, with coach Hansi Flick saying it was “to send the message that FIFA is silencing” the teams.

However, the reaction to Germany’s stance has drawn fierce and almost unanimously negative reactions across the Arab world.

The Germany-Japan hashtag was trending in Arabic for all the wrong reasons for the German team. Many called his “guzzling” stance in support of LGBT rights “insulting” and “provocative”, with some calling on Fifa to put more pressure on the players.

“Come to us, respect our religion, our culture, our rules and our laws, otherwise you can put your hands wherever you want,” one tweet said.

Another said: “Hunger, poverty, water scarcity and many other global problems and you chose only this to be your cause.”

A Facebook post, aimed at Arab and Muslim fans at the World Cup in Qatar, said: “If they [German team] are on the side of this cause, be proud of your religion and do it too.”

Germany’s move is the latest step in a row between soccer’s governing body Fifa and several European teams who had planned for their captains to wear a OneLove armband during matches to promote diversity and inclusion, until the FIFA threatened to give them yellow cards.

This move was described as “extreme blackmail” by the media director of the German football federation, Steffen Simon.

Germany – which will not face any disciplinary action for the ‘shut up’ gesture – said it was “not about making a political statement”, adding: “Human rights are not negotiable. Denying us the armband is the same as denying us. a voice. We stand our ground.”

On the eve of the World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino accused the Western world of “hypocrisy” and a “one-sided moral lesson” in his report on Qatar’s human rights record, where same-sex relationships and the promotion of same-sex relationships are criminalized.

This is more than a controversy over a football tournament.

For many Arabs this hits a raw nerve. Many here in Qatar wonder why there wasn’t a similar uproar when Russia hosted the World Cup in 2018 or when China hosted the Olympics in 2008; both countries with their own human rights problems.

When Qatar won the bid to host the tournament, it was seen as an Arab victory. Finally, one of the most important sporting events in the world was coming to a region known mainly for its conflicts.

“This is not just for Qatar,” a Qatari fan told me as we watched the opening ceremony together. “It is for all Arabs and Muslims.”

Any criticism of the organizers seems to be taken as a judgment on the entire region and its fitness as a legitimate host on the world stage, especially when it comes to prestigious events like the World Cup.

But Qatar also seems to have been taken aback by the level of scrutiny it is under, having invited the entire world into its own backyard.

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