To think that alcohol ban in Qatar shouldn’t be a shock

[Laurendelaney1987]

The Newspapers are reporting that alcohol will not be served in stadiums during the World Cup.

I don’t understand the uproar: it’s a Muslim country: if you go there you shouldn’t expect to be drinking. Visitors have a choice of whether to visit or not, and Qatar are quite right to not want lots of drunks causing mayhem.

There are many many issues with hosting the World Cup in Qatar: but I don’t think this is a big one

LGBTQQIP2SAA

You say stuff like this - I’m going to ignore w absolutely everything else you say!

LGB without the T

@MistyRock we're talking about English people complaining about not being able to do something in a Muslim country that they can't do in England

Completely agree with this. Also, the fact that there aren't any or many openly gay players in the premiership speaks volumes. There's always been an issue with racism and homophobia amongst football fans. As well as the rates of domestic violence that goes up during home matches. All these issues haven't been improved and conveniently ignored while everyone is wearing their rainbow badges.

They should never have been awarded the tournament full stop. But Budweiser has paid millions of pounds in sponsorship to FIFI with contractual agreements in place that Qatar will have had agreed to.

For their ruling Royal Family to step in 2 days before the tournament kicks off to try and ban the sale of alcohol at designated points that have all been contractually agreed within stadiums is thus breaking the agreed contract.

The whole tournament being staged here is a farce and big mistake which even the former boss of FIFA (who resigned over back handers) has agreed.

There seems to be very little interest in modern slavery in this country.

No because everyone wants their cheap manicures.

Poor lambs, not being able to get a beer at a stadium in a country with a shocking human rights record.

Serves them right for going there at all. The whole thing is a disgrace.

And men want cheap sex from abused, trafficked girls.

Yes, and rightfully so as they were told they COULD drink at the stadium in Qatar. And now thats been retracted. I'd be pretty pissed off if I had spent all my cash on flights, hotels and WC tickets to be told on the final hour it's all been changed.

How would people educating themselves facilitate them predicting that the Qataris would move the goalposts though?

Because the Qataris aren't exactly renowned for their honesty and fairness? And do what the hell they like and get away with it.

Their use of immigrant slave labour (working extremely long hours in 40 degree plus temperatures and living in appalling conditions) involved confiscating passports/refusing to organise exit visas/withholding wages etc to prevent workers from leaving. Ask them if the Qataris are trustworthy.

@MistyRock you'd be pissed off you couldn't drink for a while 90 minutes?

I won’t go to any country that is not a democracy. Yes I know democracies have issues but they automatically have 1 more positive over dictatorships. When it comes to dictatorships I discriminate against them equally.

But happy to do a sponsorship deal with Budweiser beer though?
Absolute hypocrites
The whole thing is a terrible idea.

I have lived in Gulf countries (but not Saudi Arabia which is much stricter) where non-Muslim foreigners could get a liquor licence to buy it for home consumption. Locals couldn’t have licences but could drink in e.g. hotels - one night shortly before Ramadan dh and I had dinner in a hotel where a long nearby table of at least 20 local men, was covered with empty beer cans!

I used to teach English to (largely) young adult males, and one day I asked where So-and-so - one of the class comics - was. Cue a lot of sniggering - he’d been banged up for a night or two for being drunk and disorderly - and he was a policeman! He eventually re-appeared looking somewhat chastened.

Build the stadiums etc on slave labour? Fine
Terrible human right record? Fine
Cant get pissed at matches? Outrageous

This hardly the case though. Have you missed all the flack FIFA have got for choosing Qatar for the WC?
Hardly anyone, fans or in the industry, has said it was a good choice and the country has come under a lot of scrutiny.

Haven’t you noticed the lack of buzz for this WC? There is hardly any excitement or build up to it and that it because it’s in Qatar.

Yes I would. If I was a football fan having saved up to go to the world Cup with my mates and then suddenly told I couldn't have beer whilst I watch the game I'd be pissed off. Why is that so surprising? Is it because its alcohol?

''ALL'' been changed?

You can't have a beer in the stadium feels like ALL?

You can drink in Muslim countries, just not everywhere. So you can normally drink in tourist hotels, for example, and it's not a problem.

To be fair, I can see why some fans may be upset if they had been told they can drink in regulated areas around the stadium and that has been stopped. However, they can still drink elsewhere, in their hotels, before and after, even if they can't drink during the game.

Tbh, for some football fans, reducing their alcohol access might be a positive thing.

It is NOT about the alcohol.

It is about, quite literally, moving the goalposts.

It has, as I said, now managed to reach everyones brain that it is a shit place to go. So I am happy. OP is BU because it is not the alcohol, it is the last minute change and breaking of contracts that is wrong and why the penny has finally dropped for everyone.

Yeah this is the least of our worries. You don’t get Dutch people moaning that they can’t buy weed legally in U.K when they come to football matches here.
There are SO so so many issues with World Cup being in Qater but this isn’t near the top of the list.

Why anyone would want to go to a country with such a terrible human rights record, where one of the officials interviewed even stated that being gay is a "sickness of the mind" is beyond me. But yeah, not being able to have a pint whilst watching a match in sweltering heat, that's definitely the problem...

The uproar is because they previously said alcohol would be served in specific areas for the games and people assumed that meant the stadiums but it doesn't

And yes, a main sponsor is a drinks company so I can imagine they aren't overly happy with any u turn.

Everyone is obsessed about the alcohol, they all must prove themselves to be pure and not enjoy a drop. No one understands the point being made.

Budweiser has paid 112 million dollars in sponsorship all agreed contractually.

There are many many reasons why Qatar should never have been awarded the tournament. Fifa have made a massive, massive mistake in doing so which their ex president has subsequently agreed.

But the host nation cannot try and change agreed contractual rights two days before the tournament.