Qatar And Fifa Both To Blame For This Festival Of Sleaze

LET’S clear one thing up straight away. The World Cup in Qatar isn’t the first example – nor will it be the last – of sport being used to whitewash a country.

- Stephen Pollard

The last World Cup, after all, was in Russia in 2018 – four years after Putin first invaded Ukraine and seized Crimea.

In 1978, Argentina’s military dictators used the World Cup to try to boost the country’s image.

And let’s not forget the 1980 Moscow Olympics, after the USSR invaded Afghanistan, or the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the Winter Olympics held there earlier this year.

There are many examples. But there is an added factor this time, because the Qatar World Cup has become the latest example of the law of unintended consequences.

Everything about this tournament stinks (apart from England’s brilliant performance yesterday). But the odour was there from the very beginning, when Qatar bought the contest from Fifa during the 2010 selection process, through what the US Department of Justice has alleged in a series of ongoing prosecutions was bribes worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Qatar wanted to whitewash its image and project its wealth onto the world stage. This is no secret. It’s how the Qataris operate – as shown by their ownership of Paris SaintGermain FC, Harrods and the Al Jazeera news network.