Bribe money is a hell of a drug.
Dissenting opinion.
What i don’t get is, while the offsides call is correct…the ball doesn’t get to him? It doesn’t travel more then a foot before it hits the keeper. So the player has no advantage
Unless I’ve misunderstood. I’ve only seen little bits and not a full explanation
Don’t have a subscription, so can’t read that article. But two things jump out 1) They’re claiming it’s better than Russia and China, both of which are currently committing genocide. That’s a pretty low bar. 2) No author byline. Who wrote it, what’re their other affiliations, etc. My first suspicion is that it’s not a neutral person.
Here’s a phone photo of the official line.
When the goalie and attacker contested the cross Ecuador tips it, not the goalie. The next player to touch the ball is the guy shown to be offside in the picture.
The article, as noted, is beyond a paywall, but the last visible line is already enough to dismiss it:
Ah, yes. The only possible reason to criticize Qatar’s system where adult women have legal guardians is a dislike of rich Muslims.
The Economist’s leaders (and that was one) are, as a general policy of the journal, never signed except when there might be a conflict of interests, in which case they point it out, as per my experience. But on the “pretty low bar” argument, I completely agree. Saying “it could have been worse and has been in the past” does not make anything good. One of the weakest leaders they ever wrote, I expect plenty of letters to the editor on that. If you feel inclined yourself, please write to
The Editor at the Economist
The Adelphi Building
1-11 John Adam Street
London WC2N 6HT
or via e-mail:
letters@economist.com
Ahh now I get it, thanks
Ecuador fans chant “Queremos cerveza!” (We want beer!).
Essentially, the article says Russia, China and 1970s Argentina were worse. That Qatar supports Al-Jazeera which is often outspoken. That all sex outside marriage is illegal in Qatar so LGBQT issues are a subset of that - but these laws are rarely enforced and not unlike most ther regional countries, that bribes have not been proven but if bribery did occur it says more about FIFA than Qatar, that Qatar employs many more immigrants than most countries often improving their lives, that criticisms smack of prejudice. That there is some merit to environmental concerns, but these have been addressed seriously.
I wouldn’t say all these arguments are strong. It is a bit of a puff piece. There is perhaps some slight merit to a few of them. But yes, it boils down to it could have been worse and FIFA has made bad choices before.
The Economist traditionally does not publish the authors name.
Pardel-Luc - I know. Disgusting display all around.
Dr. Paprika - Oh, hell no. Anyone who plays the fricking whataboutism card can take a flying leap off of the Pali Lookout. For the record, I was 100% against Russia getting the last one, and I find it appalling how China gets event after event.
A highly scathing indictment of how the past few days have unfolded. (Hey, best make use of Twitter while it’s still functional.) Over the years he’s been surprisingly astute in confronting some hard issues that the mainstream outlets don’t. It’s truly astounding just how quickly the badwill is piling up, and we’re only one match in. At this point I’m just hoping nobody gets imprisoned. That’s how low the bar is now.
Banning alcohol sales at the last minute was probably unhelpful. What concerns me most is the number of workers who died or were injured, which I see as very avoidable.
Scrolling this thread makes me wanna have a beer…
Qatar welcomes you, as long as you … well, don’t do anything. 
“Refect Your Respect”
Whaaa???
FIFA basically threatening to send off anyone who wears the OneLove armband. (I am assuming that the second yellow would follow if they don’t take it off)
That picture was very quickly debunked. It didn’t come from Qatar or any official Qatari source. It’s an internet troll.
Stop bothering people with the facts
None of the Iranians sang the national anthem. Not sure how significant. England all briefly took a knee, in lieu of the armbands I guess.
Iran with 11 behind the ball, but England already with 2 half-chances. Going to be frantic defending for 90 minutes or very comfortable if England score early, I think.