FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 (Promo)

Exactly a century ago, the English modernist poet Thomas Stearns Eliot wrote The Waste Land. He structured the poem as a collection of fragmented dramatic monologues, "a heap of broken images." Waking up from the horror of the Great War, no total picture of life was available to him. He reflected on the fragmentary ruins of Europe with symptoms of death all around. For him, the once-great civilisation was dying and was guilty of ennui – a personification of apathy and inactivity.

He found his fellow creatures blooming like lilacs on a graveyard who were not willing to endure the pains and efforts needed for a change. In one of the most memorable lines, Eliot quotes the French poet Charles Baudelaire to warn his readers not to think of themselves as morally superior to others. We all have our flaws, and we all have contributed to the breakdown of the system. He ends the first section by stating, "Hypocrite reader – my twin – my brother!"

I mention The Waste Land to reflect on the West and its hypocrisy that we have all witnessed in recent weeks. Thanks largely to the Western media, the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar has been in the eye of the storm.

Read more

BTV’s costly nod to World Cup

Ever since the Gulf state won the bid to host the biggest show on Earth, the massive moral industry has been finding faults in the way it is organising the event. Traditional "football fortresses like Barcelona and Berlin are turning their backs on the World Cup" while "Germany, Spain, France and Belgium are refusing to show any World Cup games" (Daily Mail). BBC has relegated the live-streaming to a red button option. Why? They accuse the Qatari government of bribing FIFA for getting the nomination in the first place, of using migrant workers to build the infrastructure ever since the nomination, leading to the death of over 6,500 people, and of maintaining the death penalty for homosexuality.

Gianni Infantino, the president of the international football association, lashed out against the West for their hypocrisy, reminding his fellow brothers that "for what we Europeans have been doing for the last 3,000 years, we should apologise for the next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons to people." Infantino reminded the press that the Western business companies who operated in Qatar had done nothing to improve the quality of the migrant workers' lives.

Western governments have continued to procure natural gas and oil from Qatar while their media outlets unleashed their political and moral bombast on human rights. Qatar's track record in exploiting its migrant workers is no different from many parts of the world. A law enacted in 2017 to protect workers has helped little to stem the rot. Then again, when we hear that many of the construction projects were implemented by non-Qatari firms, Infantino scores a point. The expat consultants receive attractive pay packages with relocation and tax-free benefits. In contrast, migrant workers from Bangladesh, India, Nepal or Sri Lanka have to pay for their recruitment. Those in white collar jobs had the choice of doing something for the ones in blue collars. Our hypocritical brothers did not speak then. And they are not asking their fellow friends to hold their tongues either.

For a country like Bangladesh, which depends a lot on its migrant workers for remittance, the gala event offered an opportunity when Qatar spent over USD 229 billion to build its infrastructure. The big question will be how to reengage these workers who might be redundant now that this construction mania is over. Will the West intervene? Very unlikely so. It is the same West that lectures us on the plight of the displaced Rohingyas in the refugee camps and has no qualms over the floating migrants in the Mediterranean. As for the LGBTQ issue, only 33 countries have legalised same-sex marriage. Why single out a nation, then?

Now that the event has tabled all its major teams, football is finally taking the centre stage. We have already seen some major upsets where former champions like Argentina and Germany have tasted defeat to their Asian counterparts. This is a perfect response to the Eurocentric and Orientalist languages that we have experienced.

Read more

Enjoy football, with your eyes (wide) open

"The desert World Cup," according to BBC, is "blighted by a dust storm of controversy." Another British tabloid headlined, "Grunting camels outside England's Qatar HQ leave team facing sleepless nights." Earlier, another news report complained that the event in Qatar "robbed us of a summer of football." A German TV complained about the carbon footprints due to the number of air conditioners and flights bringing in visitors for the games.

Ironically, Europe depends a lot on the energy supply from Gulf states – including Qatar – to withstand the winter of discontent that is looming large due to the Russia-Ukraine war. Yet, the underlying tone of Europe has been you cannot buy everything, not "our" football. They probably forget that this is not UEFA; the World Cup is international. In the opening ceremony, Morgan Freeman, who narrated the segment "The Calling," rightly reminded the crowd, "We gather here as one big tribe and Earth is the tent we all live in."

We need a long soul-searching to set our moral standards for us, for our twins, and for our brothers (and sisters).

Dr Shamsad Mortuza is a professor of English at Dhaka University.

Ivan Rakitic is hoping this Croatia team can go a step further after matching the country’s heroes of 1998 by making it to the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Barcelona midfielder Rakitic scored the decisive spot-kick as Croatia beat Russia 4-3 on penalties after a dramatic quarter-final in Sochi on Saturday finished 2-2 at the end of extra-time.

“We worked so hard and gave everything we had to get through to the semis. I think for a country like Croatia it is impressive and we want to keep going further,” said Rakitic.

“We want to enjoy this victory and not put more pressure on ourselves with what happened in 1998 -- what they did was impressive but we want to keep writing our own history and enjoy what we are doing which is very positive.”

Croatia will play England in the last four in Moscow on Wednesday, as they aim to outdo the team of 20 years ago. Back then they lost to hosts France in the last four.

“I hope we can outdo them. Their generation are more than heroes for us,” added Rakitic.

Croatia came from behind in Sochi with Andrej Kramaric cancelling out Denis Cheryshev’s opener as the tie ended 1-1 after 90 minutes.

Domagoj Vida then headed Zlatko Dalic’s side in front in extra time, only for Mario Fernandes to make it 2-2 in the 115th minute.

However, Rakitic ensured that Croatia prevailed in the shoot-out, their second in a row after beating Denmark on penalties in the last round.

They must recover quickly from a draining night before facing England, who were 2-0 winners over Sweden earlier on Saturday.

“We enjoy playing against big teams as we showed against Argentina,” insisted defender Dejan Lovren.

“England are one of the favourites to win the World Cup and you need to respect that, but we have nothing to lose. We will enjoy this game and hopefully we can make history.”

Lovren added that he was confident right-back Sime Vrsaljko would recover from the muscle injury that forced him off in extra-time against Russia.

The World Cup final between France and Croatia on Sunday was briefly interrupted when three intruders affiliated to anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot ran onto the pitch before being hauled off by stewards.

The pitch invaders, who were dressed in police-style outfits, were later detained by police, one of them told Reuters by telephone from a police station near Moscow's Luzhniki stadium, venue for the match.

In a post on its Facebook page, the group said its action was intended to draw attention to what it said were human rights abuses in Russia.

Three of Pussy Riot's original members were jailed in 2012 for staging a protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin in a church and the group have since become a symbol of anti-Kremlin direct action.

In the second half of Sunday's match, the three people wearing white shirts with police-style epaulettes, black trousers and police hats ran out onto the pitch from the area behind the French goal. A fourth person tried to run onto the pitch but was tackled on the sidelines.

The three ran about 50 metres, dispersing in different directions, before stewards wearing high-visibility jackets tackled them to the ground and dragged them off the pitch.

One photograph on social media showed one of the pitch invaders, a woman with blonde hair tucked under a police cap, performing a high-five with France player Kylian Mbappe before being caught.

The match, watched from the stands by Putin and the French and Croatian presidents, was halted, but resumed about 25 seconds later. A witness at the stadium said he had seen police escorting the pitch invaders out of the stadium grounds.

The pitch invasion was the first significant security lapse in the five-week tournament that has won hosts Russia widespread praise for their good organisation and efficiency.

Pussy Riot member Olga Kurachyova told Reuters she was one of the pitch invaders and was being held at Luzhniki police station. She said she could not speak further because police were trying to take her mobile phone away from her.

Moscow police said in a statement that three young women and a young man had been detained after running onto the pitch.

LIST OF DEMANDS

In its Facebook post, Pussy Riot complained of rights abuses in Russia. They alluded to Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker jailed for 20 years in 2015 for setting fire to two offices in Crimea, including one belonging to Russia's ruling party, after Moscow annexed the region from Ukraine.

Pussy Riot said their demands included freeing political prisoners in Russia, freedom of speech on the internet, freedom to protest, and allowing political competition.

The group shared a video on social media recorded before the incident featuring three female activists, at least two of whom were among those detained. They wore police uniforms and one of them wore a pink balaclava.

"The World Cup has shown wonderfully what the police can be like in Russia, but what will happen afterwards?" one of the activists asked in the video, an apparent allusion to lenient policing noted by Russians during the tournament.

A separate video posted on social media appeared to show the moments after the pitch invaders had been detained.

Two of them, a man and a woman, could be seen standing in a room, dressed in dishevelled police uniforms, while a voice off camera demanded handcuffs be brought.

"Do you know that Russia will pay for this to FIFA through sanctions?" the off-camera voice said, in an angry tone. "You wanted to shit on Russia, didn’t you?"

"We are for Russia," the male detainee replied.

"Sometimes I regret that it's not 1937," the person off- camera in the video said. That year was the height of political repressions carried out by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

Photographs of the pitch invasion suggested the pitch invaders did not include the three Pussy Riot members who were jailed in 2012 for performing in the church.

Russian news website MediaZona, co-founded by one of the original three Pussy Riot members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, reported that one of the pitch invaders was Pyotr Verzilov, Tolokonnikova's husband.

Fifa says it will not pay compensation to clubs and leagues unhappy about plans to play the 2022 Qatar World Cup in November and December.

It also said no apology was necessary for the scheduling of the tournament, which will disrupt a number of leagues.

A Fifa taskforce has recommended the 2022 World Cup take place in winter to avoid Qatar's hot summer temperatures.

“There will be no compensation,” said Fifa Secretary General Jerome Valcke. “There are seven years to reorganise.”

Fifa's executive committee will meet in Zurich next month to ratify the taskforce's recommendation.

Valcke also suggested that a 2022 World Cup final on 23 December was looking increasingly likely.

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore says a final that close to Christmas will cause havoc with the traditional festive club programme, while Fifa Vice-President Jim Boyce wants it played a week earlier.

But Valcke says European governing body Uefa and other confederations are keen on Friday, 23 December, although 18 December is also a possibility.

Valcke also confirmed the 2022 World Cup will be four days shorter as a “concession” to leagues and clubs - 28 days instead of the usual 31/32 - and that the 2023 African Nations Cup will move to June from January.

Speaking at a news conference in Doha today, Valcke admitted the situation was “not perfect” but added, “Why are we talking about compensation? It's happening once, we're not destroying football.

“Why should we apologise to the clubs? We have had an agreement with the clubs that they are part of the beneficiaries. It was $40m in 2010 and $70m in 2014. We are bringing all our people to enjoy the sporting and financial results of the World Cup.”

Scottish Football Association Chief Executive Stewart Regan has added his voice to those lamenting the impact a winter World Cup will have on leagues and clubs around the world.

“We will look at the knock-on effects of the decision and how it will affect Scottish football,” he said. “Clearly there will be fixture challenges for leagues across the world.

“We have been expecting this decision for some time, but it is going to run late into December and just how close to Christmas it gets is something that needs to be thought through.”

France captain Hugo Lloris has announced his retirement from international football at the age of 36, three weeks after his country lost the World Cup final on penalties to Argentina in Doha.

"I have decided to stop my international career, with the feeling that I have given everything," Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Lloris said in an interview with French sports daily L'Equipe published on Monday.

"I think it is important to announce this now, two and a half months before the start of Euro qualifying."

Lloris, who made his international debut as a 21-year-old in a friendly against Uruguay in November 2008, bows out after becoming France's most-capped player during the World Cup.

He overtook previous record-holder Lilian Thuram's mark of 142 appearances and finished with his 145th cap in the final, which France lost 4-2 on penalties after an epic 3-3 draw at the end of extra time.

"I have really been thinking about it since the end of the World Cup, but there has been something deep inside of me for maybe six months now and which grew during the competition, leading me to make this decision," Lloris said.

Former Nice and Lyon goalkeeper Lloris captained France to victory at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

He played at seven major tournaments in total, including Euro 2016, when France lost in the final to Portugal as hosts.

France's back-up goalkeepers at the World Cup were 37-year-old Rennes veteran Steve Mandanda and Alphonse Areola of West Ham United.

However, the replacement for Lloris as France's starter is set to be the 27-year-old Mike Maignan of AC Milan, who missed the World Cup due to injury.

- 'Go out at the top' -

"There comes a time when you need to step aside. I have always said the French national team does not belong to any one person," Lloris said.

"There is a goalkeeper who is ready (Maignan), and I need a bit more time for me, for my family and for my children.

"To have been the France goalkeeper for 14 and a half seasons is a big deal, but it is also mentally exhausting and I hope clearing some time for myself will allow me to keep playing at the highest level for a few more years."

He added: "I prefer to go out at the top, having helped France get to a World Cup final."

Lloris' decision comes after coach Didier Deschamps -- in charge since 2012 -- signed a new contract to remain in the position through to the 2026 World Cup in North America.

"I must, we must, respect his decision even if he still had his place in our team, as he demonstrated during the last World Cup," Deschamps said in a statement.

"A great servant of the France team is bowing out and I want to pay tribute to his exceptional career.

"Beyond all the records that his talent and professionalism enabled him to break, beyond the essential role that he played in our greatest victories ... Hugo is a remarkable person on a human level."

The next assignment for Deschamps and France is the qualifying campaign for Euro 2024 in Germany, which begins at the end of March with a double-header against the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland.

They will also play Greece and Gibraltar in Group B, with the top two teams advancing to the finals which will take place from June 14 to July 14 next year.