2022 World Cup In Qatar: 1,000 Workers Already Dead

[Silverdude2167]

"What about the horrible worker conditions, rights and deaths?"
 
Mr Zwanziger: "I don't care about that, but it will not be played there. Let me stress this is because of the heat and not poor people dying. It was our dream to have World Cups that were progressively worse for the lower classes, Qatar was going to be our crowning achievement after Brasil and Russia, but it is just to hot."

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

"What about the horrible worker conditions, rights and deaths?"
 
Mr Zwanziger: "I don't care about that, but it will not be played there. Let me stress this is because of the heat and not poor people dying. It was our dream to have World Cups that were progressively worse for the lower classes, Qatar was going to be our crowning achievement after Brasil and Russia, but it is just to hot."

The heat of course was very surprising to us, because the temperatures in that region are notoriously sneaky.

 

[Bailey10]

Sounds like pushback from domestic leagues over moving the World Cup to the winter may have finally won out.
 
It may still be a bit premature but I'm already clearing my schedule for the summer of 2022 in anticipation of the World Cup on home soil. 

 

[ifmanis5]

So all those people died for nothing. Awesome. Also, go ahead and take it away from Russia while you're at it.

 

[JayMags71]

I doubt anything is going to happen. This story is just lip service.

 

[Conigliaro's Potential]

Zwanziger was quoted as saying this:
 
"Medics say that they cannot accept responsibility with a World Cup taking place under these conditions. They may be able to cool the stadiums but a World Cup does not take place only there. Fans from around the world will be coming and travelling in this heat and the first life-threatening case will trigger an investigation by a state prosecutor. That is not something FIFA Exco members want to answer for.”
 
If the higher-ups at FIFA have actually thought this through and come to this conclusion, then this story does have legs.

 

[Silverdude2167]

Oh FIFA I had hoped you could change. Why do I always fall for the bad boy?
http://screamer.deadspin.com/fifas-independent-investigator-wants-his-corruption-rep-1638762055/+barryap

 

[MiracleOfO2704]

So much for accountability.

 

[Infield Infidel]

This is a great live feed covering all this stuff.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2014/nov/13/fifa-world-cup-ethics-committee-report-2018-2022-live-reaction
 
Garcia is pissed, but the appeals board is loaded with cronies appointed by the executive committee. 

 

[Silverdude2167]

I really enjoy this part from the Deadspin article.
 

 
 
(The farce is strong here. Today's report condemns nearly every losing World Cup bid more strongly than it does Qatar's or Russia's, if only because few Qatar administrators allowed themselves to be interviewed by Garcia, and Russia claimed it had thrown out all its records of the bidding process

 
Russia has it figured out. We may have done what you say we did but sorry we burred all the records so you can't say we did anything!

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

FBI stepping up its own investigation.
 
IANAL but from what I understand there's a very slim margin within which they could actually prosecute in this situation but I'd guess that isn't necessarily the goal, or at least not the only goal. FIFA wants this to be the end of it but everybody needs to keep hammering away. Garcia needs to stop  wasting his and everybody's time with "independent" FIFA committees and take whatever legal avenues are available to make his report and its salient points public. I know we were told not to expect a smoking gun but that whole notion is sort of moot anyways since FIFA has represented every level of the investigation to this point and is notoriously satisfied with making problems disappear without further investigation or explanation.
 
USSF can't allow itself to be appeased by a gift of the 2026 Cup on a silver platter. And we know the FA/The Guardian aren't letting this go. Unfortunately the US and UK are the two places FIFA is most happy to dismiss as sore Western losers. The whole fucking org needs to be locked in a room until the oxygen runs out.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

FBI stepping up its own investigation.
 
IANAL but from what I understand there's a very slim margin within which they could actually prosecute in this situation but I'd guess that isn't necessarily the goal, or at least not the only goal. FIFA wants this to be the end of it but everybody needs to keep hammering away. Garcia needs to stop  wasting his and everybody's time with "independent" FIFA committees and take whatever legal avenues are available to make his report and its salient points public. I know we were told not to expect a smoking gun but that whole notion is sort of moot anyways since FIFA has represented every level of the investigation to this point and is notoriously satisfied with making problems disappear without further investigation or explanation.
 
USSF can't allow itself to be appeased by a gift of the 2026 Cup on a silver platter. And we know the FA/The Guardian aren't letting this go. Unfortunately the US and UK are the two places FIFA is most happy to dismiss as sore Western losers. The whole fucking org needs to be locked in a room until the oxygen runs out.

 
I have no idea who has access to the report but I'm really hoping somebody just anonymously leaks it to the Guardian.

 

[SoxVindaloo]

Its going to be really interesting to see if the Giant  WC Sponsors start disassociating themselves from at least the Qatar migrant worker deaths. FIFA will listen to money when all else fails.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

Its going to be really interesting to see if the Giant  WC Sponsors start disassociating themselves from at least the Qatar migrant worker deaths. FIFA will listen to money when all else fails.

 
Money really is the only thing they care about.
 
Frankly, I'm thrilled that the cover-up is continuing. The only thing I'm hoping for is that they are unsuccessful in moving the tournament to the Winter. I want WC 2022 to be the full disaster and embarrassment that FIFA deserves. Just a month of media mentioning that the world's best players are fighting off heat stroke. Followed by stories detailing the thousands of civilian deaths associated in making that tournament happen. Then we can look back at the today's FIFA report at exposing the English FA and CONCACAF wrong doings and laugh even harder.  

 

[Zososoxfan]

I don't think it should come to that. Sponsors should just take a look at what's already happened, more than 5 years out, and pull the plug. Then, Qatar can have its award revoked and we can all go along with FIFA being corrupt, but not THAT corrupt as to risk RUINING the product.

 

[Infield Infidel]

this is a fun recap of the proceedings http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/4/blog/post/2144974/gabriele-marcotti-answering-the-key-questions-surrounding-fifas-ethics-investigation-summary
 

 
Q: Right but Russia? Why couldn't Garcia investigate Russia? Does he also have Russian citizenship?
A: Nope. He wasn't allowed to travel to Russia. The Russian government didn't want to give him a visa, because he was once involved in the prosecution of a guy named Viktor Bout, a Russian national currently serving a 25-year sentence for arms trafficking. The Russian government considered it a politically motivated prosecution, so he's banned from the country.
Q: Why would you appoint a special investigator to investigate a country when you know he's already on that country's blacklist?
A: Dunno. It's a FIFA mystery. Another FIFA mystery is why -- given the fact that they've awarded Russia the 2018 World Cup -- they couldn't ask President Vladimir Putin for special dispensation to let Garcia in. Or, use their influence to make the Russians who needed to be interviewed come to meet Garcia.

 

[DLew On Roids]

The head of the DFB is suggesting that UEFA could leave FIFA if the full Garcia report isn't released.

I'm thoroughly enjoying Garcia's rage at FIFA's shameless rewriting of his report. It seems like he went into this thinking, "They couldn't possibly be that bad," only to find out they're eleventy billion times worse. He's like the naïf in a gangster movie.

 

[coremiller]

The head of the DFB is suggesting that UEFA could leave FIFA if the full Garcia report isn't released.

I'm thoroughly enjoying Garcia's rage at FIFA's shameless rewriting of his report. It seems like he went into this thinking, "They couldn't possibly be that bad," only to find out they're eleventy billion times worse. He's like the naïf in a gangster movie.

 
No way that happens.  Platini is fully in bed with the Qataris and was in the thick of whatever shady deals were going on around the bid.

 

[DLew On Roids]

I'm in the Doha airport business lounge right now. No signs of FIFA sportocrats. No booze, either. Le sigh.

 

[DLew On Roids]

Jesus, FIFA really is a bunch of gangsters.

www.theguardian.com/football/2014/nov/17/whistleblowers-complain-fifa-ethics-report

 

[soxhop411]

“@CNBCSportsBiz: BREAKING: FIFA to further review World Cup corruption probe, putting Russia, Qatar back in question - AP”

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

This upcoming "independent review" will be done by Domenico Scala, chair of FIFA's audit and compliance committee. In June he said the biggest risk of corruption in FIFA is the executive committee, which is a little bit unsettling since his review of the Garcia report will merely decide if part or all of it will be made available to the 28 members of.......FIFA's executive committee.
 
I don't think "independent" means what they think it means.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

This upcoming "independent review" will be done by Domenico Scala, chair of FIFA's audit and compliance committee. In June he said the biggest risk of corruption in FIFA is the executive committee, which is a little bit unsettling since his review of the Garcia report will merely decide if part or all of it will be made available to the 28 members of.......FIFA's executive committee.
 
I don't think "independent" means what they think it means.

 
Scala is also Swiss.  I don't know anything about him but somehow I doubt that a Swiss industrialist type ends up with a high-ranking position within FIFA unless he is a strong Blatter ally.
 
So, yeah, "independent review."

 

[coremiller]

 
Scala is also Swiss.  I don't know anything about him but somehow I doubt that a Swiss industrialist type ends up with a high-ranking position within FIFA unless he is a strong Blatter ally.
 
So, yeah, "independent review."

 
In other words, Scala's review will shockingly find that all of Blatter's enemies are corrupt, and they will all be forced to resign in disgrace, just like Hammam.

 

[DukeSox]

I will be in Doha with a 15 hour layover in December.  
 
I will investigate.  

 

[DLew On Roids]

In the midst of a 10-hour layover here. (Maybe it's a douche magnet?)

No signs of corruption at the bottom of this free glass of scotch.

 

[Snoop Soxy Dogg]

LoL, I'll actually be there in mid-December too. I'll get out of the airport though, maybe I can go investigate the stadiums..or is it stadia?

 

[dirtynine]

From the NFL to Fifa to whatever, just throw an "independent" investigation at it, let the news cycle bury it and forget about it.  If all else fails, investigate the investigation, rinse, repeat.  So frustratingly pointless. 

 

[soxfan121]

In the midst of a 10-hour layover here. (Maybe it's a douche magnet?)

No signs of corruption at the bottom of this free glass of scotch.

 
That's the funniest sentence I've read this week.

 

[dirtynine]

Sony is pulling out of future World Cups.  Could be the first of a few dominoes to fall... 

 

[Warning Track Speed]

Emirates also pulled its sponsorship recently. Apparently Qatar Air (No!) and Samsung are "lined up" to replace them. Coca-Cola also unhappy. Who knows maybe enough dominos...

 

[Conigliaro's Potential]

I'm shocked - shocked! - Gazprom hasn't been lined up.

 

[Stanley Steamer]

This just in!
FIFA dismisses lawyer Michael Garcia's complaint that the report on corruption for WC 2018 and 2022 was "incomplete and erroneous".
Apparently, his complaint is "not admissable", and Eckert's report is "neither legally binding nor appealable".
That puts a nice little bow around it. Justice is done.

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

Scala's review is still to come but it won't change anything and then FIFA will loudly proclaim the matter closed given the independent and unbiased nature of his investigation.

 

[Infield Infidel]

Just in case you thought someone could beat Blatter in next year's elections, one of the guys considering running is being investigated by FIFA for corruption, just like last time
 

 
Fifa’s technical report of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids may have been compromised by the head of the inspection team putting pressure on one of the bidding countries by asking for personal favours, according to the ethics committee investigation. 
Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the former Chile FA president who led the inspection team, asked for places for his son and nephew at the Aspire academy in Qatar plus tennis coaching opportunities for his brother-in-law, according to investigators. 
Mayne-Nicholls, who has had proceedings opened against him by Fifa’s ethics committee, announced in October he is considering standing against Sepp Blatter for the Fifa presidency.

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/international/fifa-technical-report-into-qatar-2022-possibly-compromised-1.2038727

 

[Silverdude2167]

What is stopping Garcia from leaking the report? Claim he was hacked by anonymous. 

 

[Dan to Theo to Ben]

$8 fake fans? Let's hope the NBA and MLB doesn't catch on.
 
http://rt.com/news/215363-qatar-fifa-fake-fans/
 
Qatari officials need someone to fill the empty places in stadiums, according to the Associated Press. 30 Qatari riyals, equivalent to eight American dollars for migrant workers, though, is good money and some of them even enjoy their “work.”
"Shaking my body all over ... being in the crowd and shouting and dancing," Adu, a worker from Ghana told the agency. "Being there and getting paid is a plus for me."
Besides, some stadiums are equipped with free WiFi networks and workers may send e-mails to relatives and get news from home.

 

[Conigliaro's Potential]

So FIFA will publish the full Garcia report after all:
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30546139
 
This is a happy surprise...although whether this means what it ought to mean remains open for speculation.

 

[Chemistry Schmemistry]

Won't they black out anything controversial? And the announcement comes with a declaration that the 2018 and 2022 Cups won't be moved under any circumstances.

 

[Silverdude2167]

They will release a "legally appropriate version" that will only be published once the 5 ongoing investigations into individuals are complete.
 
This thing will be released after 2022.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

They will release a "legally appropriate version" that will only be published once the 5 ongoing investigations into individuals are complete.
 
This thing will be released after 2022.

And be 50% redacted.

 

[bosox4283]

I usually don't root for hackers, but I'd love to see this document leaked. 

 

[Silverdude2167]

Who wants to sponsor FIFA we have three more openings!
 
http://screamer.deadspin.com/three-more-sponsors-decide-to-stop-supporting-slavery-1681259429/+kevindraper

 

[Zososoxfan]

Who wants to sponsor FIFA we have three more openings!
 
http://screamer.deadspin.com/three-more-sponsors-decide-to-stop-supporting-slavery-1681259429/+kevindraper

 
Sadly, that article points out that other sponsors ARE lining up, which means that FIFA will continue to give exactly zero fucks about their moral and ethical bankruptcy.

 

[Titans Bastard]

FIFA put out a brief, very understated press release today with the news that the US World Cup TV rights agreement with FOX and Telemundo has been extended to 2026.  That's pretty big news delivered very quietly.
 
This sums it up:
 
https://twitter.com/sdutzeigler/status/565974701487304704

 

[coremiller]

Yeah, this was very strange, especially since they haven't even picked a host for 2026 yet.
 
The rumor is that the extension was the price for agreeing to move the 2022 tournament to the winter.

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

Guessing Fox won't be too heartbroken to take the winter hit in 2022 now that they don't have to bid for what will probably be an American World Cup.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

Fox also has global rights to German league. Could they bring back FSC?

 

[SoxFanInCali]

Fox also has global rights to German league. Could they bring back FSC?

They'll put it all on Fox Sports 1 and 2.
 
Probably most of it on 2, since it's the one that Comcast hasn't added yet.

 

[soxfaninyankeeland]

It is nice that FIFA decided to bribe Fox, but what of the domestic leagues to whom FIFA is essentially saying, we're going to gut your league of all of its best players for a month+ in the middle of their domestic season? Do they have any recourse?