On Criteria…a Proven Failed Policy

Translated by Ahmed Raslan

Reviewed by Mohaned Mohammed

Written by Yasser Abu Mualliq

The following is my translation from English of a televised and written commentary by my friend, the MSNBC anchor Ayman Mohyeldin. The commentary addresses the Western campaign against the State of Qatar regarding its hosting of the World Cup Finals.

This commentary was published on the opening day of the World Cup in Qatar (November 20):

"From the moment Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup, there have been criticisms regarding its capacity and merit to host the event. These are justifiable criticisms: any country planning to welcome fans from all over the world for a major international event must undergo intense scrutiny.

However, what has transpired over the past years, intensifying in the months leading up to Sunday’s kickoff, reveals the depth of Western bias, performative moral outrage, and, perhaps most significantly, a massive double standard.

A barrage of negative and frankly racist media commentary has been unleashed upon the small Gulf state. This has included headlines suggesting that fans celebrating the upcoming World Cup were 'paid actors' simply because they were of South Asian descent. Furthermore, a French media outlet published a caricature depicting the Qatari national team as a bunch of terrorists and the list goes on.

But is this debate truly about migrant workers' rights and human rights, or is it about the inability of European countries and Western commentators, who view themselves as the traditional gatekeepers of global football, to digest the idea of an Arab Middle Eastern country hosting such a prestigious event?

For full disclosure, I lived and worked in Qatar for about five years. I witnessed the development and progress the country accomplished, and I also saw the areas that needed improvement. As a Muslim, I am aware of the conservative social fabric and the societal constraints that Qatar must balance welcoming sports fans from all walks of life on one hand and preserving cultural and religious traditions on the other. As an obsessed football fan and an Arab-American, I am thrilled to witness the World Cup taking place in the Middle East.

Forgive me if I don’t believe that you must drink yourself into a stupor and engage in brawls with rival fans to enjoy football, something that will be difficult this year due to the last-minute decision to ban alcohol sales inside stadiums.

Many of the emotionally charged protests against Qatar’s hosting sweep a lot under the rug. For instance, FIFA, the governing body of world football, is considered one of the most corrupt international organizations, plagued by allegations of bribery and match-fixing to the point that the U.S. Department of Justice indicted several top officials. If Qatar is a villain, it certainly isn't alone.

It is fair to criticize Qatar for its record on migrant labor rights, LGBTQ+ rights, or women’s rights. But it feels suspicious, even disingenuous, when Western countries and pundits single out Qatar while the 'Defense of Marriage Act' still lingers in parts of the U.S. This law, if you’ve forgotten, defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. While most of the U.S. has moved past this culturally, understanding the gap between culture and law is vital, both here and abroad. In the past year alone, the U.S. has seen nearly 240 bills aimed at stripping away the rights of the LGBTQ+ and transgender community or criminalizing gender-affirming care.

I wonder if any of these European or American commentators, so vocal about human rights, will demand stripping the United States of its right to host the 2026 World Cup because our elected officials and judicial system are rolling back reproductive rights, banning the word 'gay' in public schools, or banning books they deem a threat to far-right religious views. As far as I can see, no one is accusing the U.S. of 'sportswashing' its anti-women policies.

Instead of stopping at accusations against Qatar, Europeans and Americans should set a better example for how they treat migrants in their own countries. A recent investigation found that France and Britain let 27 migrants die while arguing over who would save their sinking boat. If the Danish Football Union wants to protest migrant conditions in Qatar, it should also protest them in Europe. Americans decrying Qatar’s labor laws should use the opportunity to discuss solutions for the harsh treatment of migrants in America.

I am old enough to remember when the U.S. demanded football players stand for the national anthem after Colin Kaepernick sparked a wave of protest by taking a knee. It is ironic to see Western teams encouraging their players to protest for LGBTQ+ rights in Qatar while they couldn't tolerate them taking a stand against injustices at home.

When Qatar won the bid, some questioned how a country with little football history could host. This skepticism diminishes the meaning of a global event and ignores history. When the U.S. won the right to host the World Cup, it didn't even have a professional football league! Japan and South Korea were not traditional powerhouses either, but hosting sparked a sustainable football movement. Moreover, Qatar is the current Asian champion. Let’s remember that the primary goal of the World Cup is to promote football as a form of positive development.

The anti-Qatar campaign only illustrates how the West views itself as the axis of the sport. When FIFA moved the tournament to the cooler months of November and December to avoid the heat, it drew backlash from European clubs claiming it would disrupt their schedules. For 90 years, South American countries had to adapt their leagues to fit the traditional June-August window. No one complained then that it harmed South American teams, who, by the way, have won the World Cup nine times among them.

No one is saying Qatar is perfect; that would be absurd. But I urge us to be more precise in our criticism and resist parroting generic, self-serving accusations without looking in the mirror first.

The world is more interconnected today, and events like the World Cup are part of the reason. People are becoming increasingly weary of Western moral arrogance and its constant lecturing. Furthermore, hyperbolic accusations and prejudiced headlines diminish the power of legitimate criticism against international sports organizations like the IOC or FIFA, which have suffered from systemic issues for decades.

Fortunately, the fans arriving in Qatar have found the nuance that many Western commentators failed to find in the buildup to this event, even without all the beer."