FIFA Football Cup 2022 Live Updates Highlight Match
FIFA Football pundits on Qatar’s Alkass Sports channel mocked Germany’s World Cup exit by imitating the players’ protest over human rights.
On Thursday, a video posted on the channel’s Twitter page showed former Kuwaiti footballer Jamal Mubarak covering his mouth with his left hand and waving goodbye with his right, before inviting former Egyptian goalkeeper and fellow analyst Essam El-Hadary to join him.
Soon after, El-Hadary and other pundits cover their mouths and wave goodbye, presumably in celebration of Germany’s exit from the EU.
The gesture is similar to what German players did to protest FIFA’s decision to ban the “OneLove” armband, which many European captains had hoped to wear in Qatar to support LGBTQ rights.
The team’s starting lineup posed with their right hands in front of their mouths ahead of Germany’s first match on November 23, a gesture to oppose what they saw as a clampdown on free speech.
Germany was shocked to lose that game to Japan. Germany’s subsequent victory over Costa Rica on Thursday was insufficient to get them out of the group stage and into the last 16.
“Thank God, today all the Arab and Muslim nations are praying that Japan qualifies with any team, but the most important thing is that Germany exits,” Mubarak said on Alkass Sports.
The segment aired on the channel’s al-Majlis show, which was hosted by Qatari presenter Khalid Jassem and featured Arab football analysts such as Mubarak, El-Hadary, and Iraqi ex-player Younis Mahmoud.
Following Germany’s 1:1 draw with Spain last Sunday, Jassem expressed shock at Germany’s protest in an al-Majlis episode.
“You [Germany] are supposed to respect our customs, traditions, culture, and religion just as we respect your customs, traditions, and culture,” Jassem explained. “When we go to Germany or other places, we respect the rules and laws, as well as everything that the society there holds dear.”
The German Football Federation supported the protest in a series of tweets last week, saying, “It wasn’t about making a political statement – human rights are non-negotiable.” That should be taken for granted, but it isn’t. That is why we value this message so much. Denying us the armband is equivalent to denying us our voice.”
Before the tournament, captains from England, Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, and Denmark planned to wear the armbands, which feature a striped heart in various colors to represent all heritages, backgrounds, genders, and sexual identities, but FIFA warned players that doing so could result in a yellow card.
In the run-up to the World Cup, Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by up to three years in prison, has been chastised for its attitude toward LGBTQ rights.
However, the country has insisted that “everyone is welcome” at the tournament, adding that “our track record has shown that we have warmly welcomed all people regardless of background” in a statement to CNN this month.
Despite FIFA’s decision to sanction players for wearing the “OneLove” armband, the Football Supporters’ Association, the representative body for football fans in England and Wales, has stated that it “feels betrayed.”
“Since 2010, we have raised concerns about Qatar’s suitability as a World Cup host,” the FSA said in a statement. FIFA Football Cup 2022 Live Updates Highlight Match
