London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Soccer moves centre stage in Qatar, dimming World Cup controversies

Soccer moves centre stage in Qatar, dimming World Cup controversies

As the World Cup reaches a climax in Qatar, drama on the pitch has partially eclipsed human rights controversies that dogged the Gulf Arab state since it was first chosen to host the competition 12 years ago.
From the moment it was awarded the tournament, critics questioned how soccer authorities could pick a country which had never before qualified for the finals, was too hot to host summer matches and would need to build most of its World Cup stadiums from scratch.

The decision also put Qatar's human rights record in the spotlight - including conditions for foreign workers who built those stadiums and conservative laws which ban homosexuality, restrict political expression and curb alcohol sales.

Qatari authorities say the decade-long criticism of their country has been unfair and misinformed, pointing to labour law reforms enacted since 2018 and accusing some critics of racism and double standards.

Organisers have also denied allegations of bribery to clinch the right to host soccer's biggest event, held for the first in the Middle East.

Those disputes overshadowed the build-up to the competition, complicating Qatar's efforts to present itself as a global power offering the world more than vital natural gas supplies.

A Belgian investigation into separate allegations that Qatar lavished officials with cash and gifts to influence decision-making in the European Union helped reignite criticism this week. Qatar denies any wrongdoing.

But three weeks of heroics and heartbreak on the pitch have helped dim the controversies, as quarter-finals have gone to dramatic penalty shootouts and underdogs triumphed over soccer giants, opening the way for two eagerly awaited semi-finals.

Fears the tournament would stretch beyond breaking point an untested country, the smallest in terms of geography and population to host the World Cup, also proved unfounded. Sixty matches have been held successfully, with just four remaining.

"Many of us underestimated Qatar’s ability to deliver this tournament, but ultimately they pulled it off. The logistics have run smoothly and the infrastructure has worked well," said a Western diplomat in Qatar.

SPORT AND POLITICS

The first week of competition set the tone, with Saudi Arabia stunning Argentina in one of the biggest upsets of World Cup history, to the glee of thousands of visiting Saudi fans whose country until last year led a regional boycott of Qatar.

The leaders of the two neighbouring countries draped themselves in each others' national flags and scarves at the tournament, symbolising the end of a bitter dispute.

The surprise progress of Morocco -- carrying African and Arab hopes into the semi-finals for the first time -- also electrified the competition, challenging European and South American dominance and offering vindication for a first World Cup in the Arab world.

Early global attention had focused on controversy over plans by soccer's governing body FIFA to penalise teams wearing "One Love" arm bands supporting LGBT+ rights, and stadium security targeting slogans backing anti-government protests in Iran.

Germany players pointedly put their hands over their mouths for a pre-match photo after the "One Love" ban in a gesture which echoed the vocal critique of Doha's rights record from some German political leaders.

That didn't stop Qatar signing a 15-year deal to supply Germany with natural gas days later, but the German team's early knockout was greeted with schadenfreude by some Qataris, stung by criticism from Berlin and other capitals.

"All seven #OneLove armband teams are now out of the #WorldCup. Maybe if they focused more on football, rather than how to protest, they wouldn't be out," tweeted Qatari writer Reem al-Harmi.

Another European diplomat said the tournament had given a platform for political issues. "From a Western perspective, the critique has not vanished," they said.

"You can't separate sport and politics. But when the game starts, it's the game and not politics for the next 90 minutes."

"MOST INCLUSIVE" WORLD CUP

Concerns about logistical challenges in Qatar, hosting an event of this scale for the first time, emerged in September when marshals struggled to manage crowds leaving an inaugural match at the country's largest stadium. However, the World Cup itself has mostly run smoothly.

"Everything is uniform and steady. No bottlenecks," one official said, smiling and clasping his hands after Argentina's defeat to Saudi Arabia three weeks ago at the same stadium.

Restrictions on alcohol sales in the conservative Muslim country drew much attention before kickoff, but many visiting fans eventually shrugged off the issue.

Those curbs will likely have helped ensuring crowd safety, and the lower-than-expected number of visitors, although disappointing for organisers, put facilities under less strain.

Authorities had forecast an influx of 1.2 million for the month-long tournament, but only 765,000 visitors arrived in the busiest first two weeks when 32 teams were competing and four matches were held daily.

Qatar says those numbers don't tell the full story of a competition which has attracted fans from southeast Asia, South America, Europe and across the Arab world.

"We believe that this is the most inclusive World Cup," Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told the Washington Post last week. "All of them are coming here and enjoying the football".
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×