A worker at a football stadium in Qatar being prepared for the 2022 World Cup
Once once more, the Qatar 2022 World Cup is under fire and criticism following the French capital, Paris, decided to ban the presentation of the World Cup matches a month and a half before its launch, which sparked controversy on social media between those who reject this decision, accusing France of politicizing the World Cup on the one hand, and others who considered that the decision aims to To rationalize energy consumption in the first place at a time when Europe is suffering from a crisis in electricity and gas.
This controversy comes at a time when tweeters launched a campaign called “Show your respect” calling on all visitors to attend the World Cup to respect Qatari customs and culture, which caused an uproar on social media.
What’s the story?
For months, the controversy has not stopped over the World Cup in Qatar 2022. With the countdown to the start of the tournament, the French capital, Paris, announced that it had joined several cities that decided to refrain from showing the matches that start next month, on giant screens, or allocating places for fans.
The mayors of French cities justified their decision by the human rights file in Qatar, the mistreatment of workers, and the rumors regarding the death of large numbers of workers in the construction of the facilities of the Qatar World Cup and its eight stadiums, as well as the provision of energy.
Paris is not the only one that has prevented the transfer of matches in public squares, as it followed in the footsteps of several French cities such as Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes, Reims or Strasbourg, Lille and Rodez, which took a similar decision regarding the event organized by Qatar between November 20 and December 18.
The sudden decision angered some tweeters and activists in Qatar, which was reflected on social media, as some denounced the decision. A tweeter said that the French government only wants to save energy, but it only wants to blame Qatar.
Hilal Al-Badi expressed his dissatisfaction with the announcement of the boycott of some French cities to transfer the World Cup matches
While some tweeters compared what is happening in France at the same time that Qatar is accused of violating workers’ rights
with resolution
On the other hand, tweeters considered that the decision was a natural product of Qatar’s actions, and criticized Ghazal Al Fahd from Saudi Arabia, Qatar’s denial of its violation of workers’ rights
While another considered that the main reason behind this decision is the energy crisis that Europe suffers from
marking “Show your respect“ Twitter tops
picture released, Photos
“Show Your Respect” campaign flyer
In the context of the controversy surrounding the World Cup in Qatar, the pioneers of social networking sites, in Qatar and the Arab world, widely circulated the publication “Qatar Welcomes You”, which includes a series of instructions directed to the missions and audiences that will be present in the World Cup Doha 2022.
The publication entitled “Qatar Welcomes You”, issued by the media project to preserve the Qatari identity, “Show your respect”, included a set of behaviors that the visiting public should avoid.
Reject the campaign and welcome the visitAErin
Some mocked this campaign, stressing that these conditions are difficult to implement in the largest sports tournaments around the world, so a tweeter wondered:
While another tweeter considered these instructions to be very strict
While others posted a video of the Emir of Qatar welcoming all visitors to the World Cup in an attempt to counter the strict instructions in the “Show Your Respect” campaign.
Supporters of the “Show Your Respect” campaign
On the other hand, tweeters expressed their welcome to the campaign, considering that it preserves the Qatari identity and consolidates Islamic values. A tweeter said that this version of the World Cup has an Arab flavor.
While one of the tweeters predicted that this World Cup will be different thanks to this campaign
Some suggested that young men and women volunteer to publish the “Show Your Respect” campaign flyer.
Math expert:No to politicizing sports
To read the details of the scene and what it means for the decision to prevent the transfer of World Cup matches and the implications of this decision, the BBC blog spoke with sports journalist Youssef Al-Tamsmani, who lives in Europe, and we asked him first regarding the reasons for the decision to prevent the transfer of World Cup matches in some European cities, including Paris, and he replied:
In fact, everything we said in the past regarding the politicization of sports has become a tangible thing now and we live it daily on social media and even at the level of government decisions. Trying to spoil the first football wedding in the World Cup in an Arab country. We know that Macron has a set of negative attitudes – as he called them – from some Arab countries, and this falls within this framework, although no one has the right to affect the decisions of any country. Qatar organizes the World Cup with its own terms, conditions and capabilities. If this organization does not fit the principles of some other countries, it must withdraw.
But there are accusations once morest Qatar from international human rights organizations regarding the workers’ file years ago?
We can open a lengthy discussion regarding the humanitarian conditions and human rights in Qatar, but the question arises: why are these matches now being banned when we are a month and a half away from the start of the competitions? Didn’t European countries know this a long time ago, since Qatar won the World Cup? Why did FIFA not put conditions on all developed countries to organize the World Cup on the safety of stadiums and infrastructure, as well as the safety and rights of all workers in the stadiums and the institutions organizing the World Cup so that all rights are clear and reserved? I think that there is a fear among some European countries that this round of the World Cup will succeed in light of Qatar’s violations in the file of workers’ rights.
AndWhy didn’t you try Repairthis file To avoid these criticisms?
Perhaps the reason is the overconfidence of the Qataris in themselves and their indifference to international advice to carry out these reforms, and we can blame the Qatari authorities and the World Cup Organizing Committee largely for these criticisms. It is possible to stop this organization from the first sight, as it did with Guinea recently. The organization was withdrawn from Guinea and the file of nominations will be opened once more for another group of countries. Why did this not happen with all the permanent criticism of Qatar?
– What do you think of the campaign launched by some that calls for ZI see Qatar to attend likeo the world to respect the Qatari customs and traditions?
Although the campaign was launched by tweets and activists, I think it must have obtained approval from the Qatari authorities. Do you think that the campaigners did not consult the authorities before launching this campaign? I rule out this possibility.
But the Qatari authorities Emphasizes welcome With all the players and visitors on the ground?
If you follow those in charge of this campaign, you will find that, in the end, it is affiliated with one of the families close to the ruling family or an association loyal to a party in Qatar, and we all know that whoever rules Qatar is a group of families close to each other, and therefore it is always known who launched this campaign, which requires approvals before its launch. It is a very clever maneuver because they have brought society into this conflict and the state or the authorities have remained far from this decision. If the Qatari authorities were once morest this campaign, they would have launched a counter campaign to confront this campaign. But the silence on this campaign in itself indicates tacit approval of it.
