Fifa warns the FA: Shut up or be thrown out of the world cup

 

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Fifa, that most appalling of football organisations has warned the FA that if it raises any complaints about Saudi Arabia hosting the 2034 World Cup it is likely to be thrown out of the competition.  In my view, all we can do is to continue to point out what sort of a country Saudi Arabia is, and how weak the FA is in not already having announced it will not take part.

I rather suspect most if not all qualifying countries will in fact take part and that to their eternal discredit the BBC and ITV will broadcast matches from the games.   Of course, Untold will protest, but equally of course our voice is of no consequence in such a debate, and we’ll be drowned out by the mainstream media which will compromise to the nth degree when it comes to morality.

What makes the whole farce even more facial is that Saudi Arabia is the only bidder, as the rest of the world seemingly has realised a) how ludicrous the whole affair is and that b) Saudi Arabia had won the bid even before the bidding started.

Thus this is the moment that the whole of football could stand up and be counted.  And on that score it has failed utterly.  Instead it will to kow-tow to the will of Fifa.  Only one country seems to be able to stand up and say, “this is a step too far,” refuse to accept this move, leave Fifa and set up a new world body.   That really tells us what international football is about.

For “standing up,” I fear, is not an option as apparently the FA is refusing even to comment to the mainstream media who are asking for a reaction from the body to Fifa’s threats.

However, we must give the Football Association every chance to stand up for basic human rights as it did actually raise the issue over the world cup in Qatar.  Not very much, and not very loudly, but it did try.   In response Fifa then took no notice, and that should have been the moment the Football Association, and other organisations that agreed to take a stand.  But the moment was lost.  The FA bent the knee to Fifa, and its last vestige of credibility was gone.

There still have been no financial remedies for migrant workers who suffered last time around, and undoubtedly more will be recruited and treated even worse this time.   The mighty Harry Kane did suggest he might wear a rainbow armband at the last world cup, but even that tiny move was quickly dropped in the face of a threat of sanctions, which shows just how far the FA and its players were prepared to go last time, which is of course nowhere at all.

The Guarian has reported in the past that the Norwegian Football Federation has been highly critical over Fifa’s decision on  the World Cup in Qatar and Saudi Arabia and will of course once more vote against the notion of Saudi Arabia.   The Guardian also suggests that the Federation has already “written to Fifa expressing concern over the process.”

That the FA has not taken such action, and undoubtedly won’t, is to that organisation’s eternal discredit.  As Norway pointed out the whole process of giving the World Cup to Saudi Arabia goes against the whole basic notion of “accountability, transparency, and objectivity” that were supposed to be the centrepiece of the reforms that Fifa put in place when voices were raised eight year ago. 

But football authorities have long since shown their utter unwillingness to support the notion of standing up against fanatical, undemocratic governments and so their stand in support of Saudi Arabia is not surprising.  Nor is the weakness of the FA’s protest surprising.  But it is still worth highlighting. 

Yet as Norway’s football federation’s president herself has pointed out, “The lack of predictability and open processes challenges trust in Fifa as the global custodian of football.  Fifa’s own guidelines for human rights and due diligence have also not been adequately integrated into the process, increasing the risk of human rights violations. We have consistently advocated for Fifa to strengthen itself as a rules-based and predictable steward of international football. We must remain consistent in this matter.”

Fifa in response issued its final absolute insult to Norway, and to the whole concept of human rights by saying in its report accepting the Saudi bid that human rights violations during the building process and the tournament were considered a “medium risk”.

So now we know.  A “medium risk” to human rights is perfectly acceptable in relation to football’s biggest competition.  One can only hope that one day supporters of football will realise that doing anything at all to support Fifa is itself to support the denial of human rights across the world.