This Qatar keeper looks really dodgy

Qatar would struggle in league 2

I was impressed with the way Ecuador went about their business.

Glad the football has started but we cannot get away from the Politics. It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow in both England and Wales games. Both captains have stated that they will be wearing rainbow armbands in support of gay rights etc. I wonder what will happen if the opponents complain as FIFA don’t allow political statements during a game. Btw, I agree with the captains stance.

I didn't watch today's opening game. I simply couldn't face doing so. I'm not certain but expect I will watch Wales tomorrow.

pembsexile wrote: November 20th, 2022, 6:41 pm Glad the football has started but we cannot get away from the Politics. It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow in both England and Wales games. Both captains have stated that they will be wearing rainbow armbands in support of gay rights etc. I wonder what will happen if the opponents complain as FIFA don’t allow political statements during a game. Btw, I agree with the captains stance.

It may earn them a booking, apparently. Counterproductive for the authorities if so - it just adds to the sense that FIFA are trying to avoid any mention of the sh*tshow that they brought onto themselves by awarding - selling - the tournament to Qatar.

I think it's a balancing act, as once I decided to watch Wales, it seemed respectful to watch their potential opponents. Tomorrow I'm going to the cinema (cheap Mondays) in the break between the England and Wales games. Apologies to Senegal and Netherlands, but will catch up soon.

pembsexile wrote: November 20th, 2022, 6:41 pm Glad the football has started but we cannot get away from the Politics. It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow in both England and Wales games. Both captains have stated that they will be wearing rainbow armbands in support of gay rights etc. I wonder what will happen if the opponents complain as FIFA don’t allow political statements during a game. Btw, I agree with the captains stance.

Of course when England hosted the World Cup nobody gave a damn about gay rights, with homosexual acts between men being illegal in the UK and in many other countries. In fact the age of consent for homosexual men was only made the same as for heterosexual men as recently as 2000 in Wales and England.

I checked on the score at half time and eventually watched the last 30 minutes. I'd agree that the Qatari team wouldn't challenge for promotion from League Two. I'm not overly convinced that Ecuador were much cop either. It's a great shame when the country hosting the competition resorts to having a section of the crowd quite obviously under instructions to act the part of enthusiastic fans.

I reckon the Iranian captain may not be going home after the tournament.

Blackandamber wrote: November 20th, 2022, 9:22 pm

pembsexile wrote: November 20th, 2022, 6:41 pm Glad the football has started but we cannot get away from the Politics. It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow in both England and Wales games. Both captains have stated that they will be wearing rainbow armbands in support of gay rights etc. I wonder what will happen if the opponents complain as FIFA don’t allow political statements during a game. Btw, I agree with the captains stance.

Of course when England hosted the World Cup nobody gave a damn about gay rights, with homosexual acts between men being illegal in the UK and in many other countries. In fact the age of consent for homosexual men was only made the same as for heterosexual men as recently as 2000 in Wales and England.

True Jim but........

We used to burn lonely old women who had nothing but a cat for company because they were witches. Everyone has to make their own minds up as to whether they are going to watch the World Cup. I won't be but that's my personal decision and I make no criticism of those who choose to watch.

However we can I hope all agree that Qatar should not have been given the tournament and that FIFA is an organisation run by a bunch of greedy, hypocritical, gutless c@nts.

Stan A. Einstein wrote: November 21st, 2022, 12:13 am

Blackandamber wrote: November 20th, 2022, 9:22 pm

pembsexile wrote: November 20th, 2022, 6:41 pm Glad the football has started but we cannot get away from the Politics. It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow in both England and Wales games. Both captains have stated that they will be wearing rainbow armbands in support of gay rights etc. I wonder what will happen if the opponents complain as FIFA don’t allow political statements during a game. Btw, I agree with the captains stance.

Of course when England hosted the World Cup nobody gave a damn about gay rights, with homosexual acts between men being illegal in the UK and in many other countries. In fact the age of consent for homosexual men was only made the same as for heterosexual men as recently as 2000 in Wales and England.

True Jim but........

We used to burn lonely old women who had nothing but a cat for company because they were witches. Everyone has to make their own minds up as to whether they are going to watch the World Cup. I won't be but that's my personal decision and I make no criticism of those who choose to watch.

However we can I hope all agree that Qatar should not have been given the tournament and that FIFA is an organisation run by a bunch of greedy, hypocritical, gutless c@nts.

I think your opinion FIFA is a rational and reasonable one.

Intense discussions this morning between England, Wales, the nine European nations and FIFA about wearing the rainbow armbands. FIFA have said that there could be Captains sanctions if they are worn. I truly hope England and Wales don’t back down. They have previously stated that they would accept a fine but it now appears that Kane could get a yellow or even worse. This morning it will be interesting to see what the Netherlands say about any change in wearing them. It was the Netherlands who instigated this issue in 2020.

Bloody politics, I blame FIFA for letting the tournament go to QATAR in the first place. Even Blatter has now said it was wrong.

The UK has a history of trying to impose its version of moral values on others. Has it ever worked, or are those regions still problematic by our own yardstick?
When England hosted the World Cup in 1966 it was illegal to be openly homosexual. Capital punishment hadn't long been repealed, and we still had the remnants of a an empire by force.

Qatar is a Country the size of Yorkshire with an indigenous population of 700k. It requires 2 million migrant workers. Yes they are not treated well, but as this country's wealth is built on the back of slavery, I find it a bit much to try and take the moral high ground.
Germany has a fine engineering base built upon migrant workers, who do not end up with the best pension system in Europe like German workers.

Change happens slowly, but there has been some progress for migrant workers in Qatar who now don't have to work outside in 40 degree heat.

Qatar had a total population of 150k in 1966. It now has a World Cup legacy of eight 60k stadiums in a city of 600k. Whatever FIFAs motivation was, let's hope that the legacy is much more than the stadiums.

Well that’s it then. Seven European nations have just announced that they will not now be wearing the rainbow armbands in their games.