By Alex P. Vidal
WE are sad that amid the excitement and thrill soccer fans all over the globe felt since the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 unwrapped on November 20, hooliganism, threats and intimidation have taken center stage involving major characters in the world of sports.
We’re referring to the two incidents that hogged sports headlines while soccer fans were in the middle of pre-championship match celebration for the apparent successful staging of the beautiful game in the gulf region for the first time in history.
First, the reported threats of imprisonment and torture made to the families of Iran’s World Cup soccer team if the players failed to “behave” ahead of the match against the USA on November 29.
Second, the “warning” sent to Argentina star player Lionel Messi by equally famous Mexican boxer Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for “disrespecting” Mexico.
These are actually unnecessary distractions meant to snatch away the euphoria felt by fans anywhere in the world.
When the Emirate of Qatar bagged the hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in December 2010, a slogan that proclaimed “Expect Amazing” was released and reverberated all over the soccer world.
What amazing things do we have to expect now that threats of violence and pure and simple hooliganism have tainted the FIFA affair?
The Iran team hullabaloo erupted following the refusal of Iranian players to sing the nation’s national anthem in their opening match against England on November 21.
The players were reportedly called to a meeting with members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and told that their families would face “violence and and torture” if they did not sing the national anthem or if they joined any political protest against the Tehran regime.
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This reportedly prompted the players to sing the anthem before their second game against Wales last November 25, which saw 2-0 victory for Iran.
Sam Kiley quoted a source closely monitoring Iran’s security agencies operating in Qatar over the World Cup period that dozens of officers from the IRGC had been drafted in to monitor the Iranian players who are not allowed to mingle outside the squad or meet with foreigners.
“There are a large number of Iranian security officers in Qatar collecting information and monitoring the players,” Kiley quoted the source.
The Portuguese coach of Iran’s national team, Carlos Queiroz, reportedly met separately with IRGC officers following their threats to Iranian players and their families.
The players had been reportedly promised “presents and cars” ahead of the England game but the regime had switched to threatening players and their families after the humiliation of the team’s refusal to sing their national anthem.
In another scandalous outburst, Alvarez, who never had the opportunity to fight Senator Manny Pacquiao when the latter was still active as a prizefighter, was quoted in the reports as saying in a tweet, “Did you see Messi cleaning the floor with our shirt and flag????”
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The popular Mexican ring dynamo apparently was referencing a video in which Messi appears to kick a Mexico shirt that is on the floor during Argentina’s celebrations in the changing room.
Reports said there was no indication that Messi kicked the shirt intentionally, instead appearing to do it accidentally as he took off his football boots.
“He better pray to God that I don’t find him!!” Alvarez added in another tweet, with a series of angry emojis. “Just like I respect Argentina, he has to respect Mexico! I’m not talking about the country as a whole, just about the bulls**t that Messi pulled.”
Argentina beat Mexico 2-0 on November 26 in a tense game in Group C where Messi scored the opening goal, before Enzo Fernandez sealed the victory late on to keep Argentina’s World Cup dream alive following a shocking opening round defeat to Saudi Arabia.
Widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound boxers ever after winning world championships in four weight classes, Alvarez added in one reply to a journalist: “It’s one thing them being better than us (in football), it’s another thing to have respect.”
Messi’s former Argentina teammate Sergio Aguero responded to Alvarez on Twitter, saying: “Mr. Canelo, don’t look for excuses or problems, surely you don’t know about football and what happens in a changing room. The shirts are always on the floor after games have finished due to sweat and then if you look properly, he makes the movement to remove his boot and accidentally hits it.”
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)
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