The shenanigans were always there, but until FIFA president, Infantino Giovanni, called them out in his down-to-earth press conference in Qatar, they remained the elephant in the room.
The hint of displeasure goes back 12 years ago when Qatar won the bid, defeating Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States. That outcome was unexpected.
The Persian Gulf is good news for Western oil and gas supply and tales of mysticism and Arabian opulence, but an Arab World Cup was a different matter altogether.
European interests pounced. They immediately insinuated that the process had been compromised and later expressed discomfort that the timing could also disrupt major European league schedules and leave players too exhausted to finish the season. Of course, they conveniently forgot that Arab money sustains some of the best European leagues!
When the excuse of disruption didn’t stick, they expanded the field of resentment, taking care to deploy, from the reserve bench,…
Source: Leadership Newspaper
