The World Cup is underway and low and behold, western media outlets, especially those based out of the United States have done their very best to completely sportswash the event, falling in line with FIFA’s mandate to jUsT fOcUs On SpOrTs.
Meanwhile, there hasn’t been any bigger coward when it comes to that aforementioned idea of basically “shut up and kick the ball” than former USMNT player and corporate soccer shill Alexi Lalas.
Lalas’ coverage of the World Cup has been cringeworthy to put it extremely lightly as the broadcaster has towed FOX Sports’ company line of putting pretty much zero spotlights on the human rights atrocities undertaken by the Qatari government, especially in the leadup to this year’s event.
Back in October, Lalas and his fellow FOX Sports broadcaster Rob Stone told Pro Soccer Wire that one of the biggest broadcasting company’s in the world would leave the human rights topics for others to talk about.
“The focus at Fox Sports for these events and really all events has always been about the game, and about the sport and about the personalities,” lead host Rob Stone told Pro Soccer Wire.
“So much of the quote-unquote, outside news can be handled by somebody else. We’re there to celebrate the sport, celebrate the game, celebrate the talents that have been there. In the end, we believe that’s what a majority of the viewership wants.”
Lead analyst Alexi Lalas said that Fox won’t “put our heads in the sand” when it comes to the issues, but echoed Stone’s sentiment that off-field topics are best left to other outlets.
“We’re over there to talk about this game,” Lalas told Pro Soccer Wire. “And you are going to have plenty of opportunities … from a Fox perspective, we have a news division. And there will be plenty of opportunity for people to rightly and fairly talk and discuss and debate the situation.”
Pro Soccer Wire
Never forget the over 6,500 lost
To put this all in perspective, last year The Guardian ran a piece where it was estimated that at least 6,500 migrant workers died in the leadup to this year’s World Cup due to atrocious working conditions in the desert country. This is undoubtedly one of the biggest atrocities in the name of sports that has ever happened and to have some of the biggest broadcasters and media companies go silent on the issue reaffirms the longstanding notion of profits over people. Not to mention the Qatari government still to this day has incredibly draconian policies when it comes to marginalized communities within their own borders, specifically speaking of Qatar’s treatment of women and LGBTQ individuals.
When it comes to these covering these issues though, not all outlets have completely buried their heads. Telemundo has done a pretty good job highlighting the atrocities while even opening a broadcast discussing the vast human rights and discrimination that takes place within Qatar.
FIFA looking to sanitize it all
FIFA is awful, we all knew that and their choice of putting the World Cup in Qatar makes them complicit in the over 6,500 migrant lives lost. However, FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s attempt to try to shame anyone criticizing Qatar was laughable.
“Let’s look at ourselves in the mirror, look where we come from, and if we are convinced that we defend the right causes, try to convince the others by engaging,” said Infantino. “We will engage, we will continue to engage with our associations all over the world. And there are associations who think white and others who think black. Which ones are better? Which cause is better? We cannot take sides. We have to defend causes which are international, which are global, which everyone can feel to be part of it, because otherwise we start excluding people because they don’t think like us.”
The Star
In some ways does Infantino have a point? If you put aside the notion that he’s not making any good-faith argument here sure. When the World Cup makes its way to North America in four years, there should be tremendous focus on the United States crushing imperialism and the multitude of domestic issues surrounding our bloodthirsty gun culture and “state’s rights” bullshit that’s nothing more than a dog whistle for reactionaries.
