Category: World news

‘Roy Keane be damned’: how the pundit became a hate figure in Brazil | World Cup 2022


Brazilian football fans have excoriated Roy Keane after the former Manchester United star derided the country’s national team players’ dance moves during their World Cup last-16 victory over South Korea.

Brazil’s players repeatedly shook their stuff during Tuesday’s 4-1 win with the coach, Tite, even joining in after Richarlison scored the third goal, cavorting like a pigeon in reference to the Tottenham striker’s nickname.

Yet Keane took exception to the continuous dancing after Brazil’s goals. “I don’t mind the first kind of little jig – whatever they’re doing – but they’re still doing it after that, and then the manager getting involved with it,” the Irish commentator grumbled on ITV. “I’m not happy with it, I don’t think it’s very good at all.”

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In Brazil those comments went down like a 7-1 defeat by Germany and transformed Keane into an immediate hate figure for dance-loving football fanatics. “Brazilian football is the embodiment of happiness. Roy Keane be damned,” wrote the sports columnist Julio Gomes, one of many citizens who took exception to the former Ireland midfielder’s remarks.

In an article for the website UOL Esporte, Gomes said Keane’s attack was merely the latest example of arrogant and clueless Europeans getting their knickers in a twist over the delight of others. “They think they are the best at everything and have the right to judge anyone,” Gomes said. “They think they are the masters of what is right and what’s wrong, and that the entire world must follow their behavioural manual.

“Brazilian footballers like to dance when they score. Full stop. Respect it and deal with it. It’s hard to explain an authentic demonstration of happiness to someone who doesn’t know how to express happiness.”

Others offered even blunter critiques and wondered how the man behind the vicious tackle on Alf Inge Haaland in 2001 thought he was in position to lecture others on disrespect. “I think Roy Keane … should get fucked,” the screenwriter Antonio Tabet told his 3.1 million Twitter followers, before adding: “Ireland’s Roy Keane complaining about goal celebrations at a World Cup is like Ronaldinho disapproving of bobsledding at the Winter Olympics.”

There was criticism from the world of football too. Luís Castro, the Portuguese coach of Rio de Janeiro side Botafogo, told the Brazilian channel SportTV: “Roy Keane doesn’t understand Brazilian football culture. He doesn’t understand the Brazilian team.

“We all know that [the dance] isn’t disrespectful to anyone … it just shows real unity between the coach and the players. The world of football shouldn’t worry about this because we’ve become accustomed to Roy Keane’s inelegant and sometimes very arrogant statements.”

One of the Brazil players, Lucas Paquetá, denied his team’s dancing was designed to offend opponents. “We’re celebrating because it’s our moment. We scored a goal and Brazil is celebrating,” he said. “If he [Keane] doesn’t like it, there’s not a lot I can do for him. If we score another goal, we’ll carry on celebrating like this.

Tite told reporters his players were always likely to face disapproval from “ill-disposed” critics but defended their right to boogie. “It’s a show of joy,” the coach said.



‘Senegal is the best’: Dakar’s dreaming of World Cup upset | Senegal


Just under 4,500 miles (7,200km) away from the shiny stadiums in Qatar, a man named Serigne Fallou confidently proclaims that he already knows what the result will be on Sunday when England take on Senegal in the World Cup’s round of 16.

“Absolutely, Senegal will win, 1-0,” says Fallou, an apartment doorman in Dakar, Senegal’s bustling capital on the Atlantic Ocean. “I don’t have a doubt.”

People watching a World Cup match at a restaurant on the Dakar coastline.
People watching a World Cup match at a restaurant on the Dakar coastline. Photograph: Guy Peterson

There’s a buzz in the air in the small west African country, whose Lions of Teranga have been on a hot streak of late. Players such as Sadio Mané, recently traded from Liverpool to Bayern Munich, Kalidou Koulibaly, of Chelsea, and Everton’s Idrissa Gana Gueye star in the European leagues. They bested Mo Salah’s Egypt to win the Africa Cup of Nations this year, sparking multi-day street parties in Dakar that delayed the arrival of the winners – and their trophy – from the airport as they crawled through seven hours of crowd-induced traffic welcoming them home.

A football match on a sand pitch in the northern Dakar neighbourhood of N’gor.
A football match on a sand pitch in the northern Dakar neighbourhood of N’gor. Photograph: Guy Peterson

And now, the Senegalese are ready to win what would be their first World Cup.

Street sellers in the capital, thronging with millions of residents, have traded – or added to – their usual stocks of kitchenware, phone chargers or tourist tchotchkes for Senegalese flags, wristbands, headbands and shirts. Jerseys of varying legality go for 5,000 to 15,000 CFA francs (£6.50 to £19.50), with children often running around the street decked out head to toe in full kits before games.

Ablaye Diaby putting up a flag beneath dozens of football shirts on a wall across from his small shop in Dakar.
Ablaye Diaby putting up a flag beneath dozens of football shirts on a wall across from his small shop in Dakar. Photograph: Guy Peterson

“They will win. The Senegalese team is the champion of Africa,” says Ousseynou Thioune, who is selling a variety of jerseys and wristbands on a busy boulevard. He bumps up Fallou’s prediction, to 2-0.

“They’re still the Lions, even without Sadio,” Thioune says, referencing the star forward Mané, who was injured in a Bayern game just before the World Cup began.

A woman buying a Senegal football shirt from Ousseynou Thioune (middle left).
A woman buying a Senegal football shirt from Ousseynou Thioune (middle left). Photograph: Guy Peterson

When it was announced that the Ballon d’Or runner-up would have to sit out, drama and consternation among the football- and Mané-crazed populace ensued. In the aftermath, one man told France24 that “I cried when I saw” the news.

“With my friends, we were talking about it. There were some who had bought a television [to watch the World Cup] – and they sold it back,” he said.

People set up small goals to play football on a concrete pitch in a residential area of Dakar.
People set up small goals to play football on a concrete pitch in a residential area of Dakar. Photograph: Guy Peterson

Yet the Lions have more than persevered. Their opening game against Netherlands, resulting in a 2-0 loss, was quickly pushed aside with 3-1 and 2-1 wins over Qatar and Ecuador, respectively.

A young boy looks over a football stadium pitch in a residantial area of Dakar.
A young boy looks over a football stadium pitch in a residential area of Dakar. Photograph: Guy Peterson

“This year, this World Cup, I hope the Africans are going to the final. An African team must qualify. And Senegal is the best,” Thioune says. Along with Senegal, Morocco have also advanced out of the group stage, with Cameroon and Ghana still in with a chance of qualification too going into their final group matches on Friday.

“Football helps people forget about unemployment, it helps people forget about their problems,” Thioune continues. “When there’s football, everybody is talking about football. You’re forced to forget your problems – even the politicians, even the president.”

A Senegalese football fan celebrates during a world cup match at a local sports bar in Dakar.
A Senegalese football fan celebrates during a World Cup match at a local sports bar in Dakar. Photograph: Guy Peterson

In Senegal, the national sport is laamb, a Sumo-like form of traditional wrestling. But like so many other places across the world, football is still the great, globalising equaliser, played everywhere from the country’s pockmarked sandlots to its grand stadiums. When Mané played for Liverpool, it was easy to find television sets and smartphones tuned into the Reds everywhere from Dakar to the smallest villages in Senegal’s rural hinterlands.

“We have [star] players like the English. They play in English championships,” says Ke Ba, a restaurateur who serves up plates of fish, rice, and vegetables – the national dish, thieboudienne – from his small, one-room restaurant. Despite wearing a Manchester jersey, he has no love for the English national team.

“We believe we will win,” he says. “It’s the World Cup – you have to beat the big teams.”

Still, some are hedging their bets.

Djibril serves a customer a breakfast sandwich standing in his corner shop decked out with Senegalese flags and scarves across the shelves.
Djibril serves a customer a breakfast sandwich standing in his corner shop decked out with Senegalese flags and scarves across the shelves. Photograph: Guy Peterson

“No,” says Djibril Diallo, insisting he’s not nervous, per se. But “England – it’s not a small team,” adds the corner store owner, whose shop is dressed up with a Senegalese scarf hanging across a wall of foodstuffs.

“Senegal also, it’s not a small team,” he says. “This match is a bit complicated. Two equals are playing. Two teams, equal. In any case, we’ll pray to God.”

Boys play football on N’Gor beach in Dakar. For many who don’t go to school they spend their days with friends playing the game on the street or on the many beachs around Dakar.
Boys play football on N’Gor beach in Dakar. For many who don’t go to school they spend their days with friends playing the game on the street or on the many beaches around Dakar. Photograph: Guy Peterson

On a nearby beach, young children and adults alike play pick-up games along the shoreline. Even in a worst-case scenario, they’ll be there again on Monday, same as ever, the next generation of Manés, Koulibalys, and Gueyes among them.

Iranian man, 27, shot dead for celebrating team’s World Cup exit | Iran


An Iranian man was shot dead by security forces after Iran’s national team lost to the US and exited the World Cup, as anti-government demonstrations took place inside and outside the stadium in Qatar and across Iran.

Mehran Samak, 27, was shot dead after honking his car horn in Bandar Anzali, a city on the Caspian Sea coast, north-west of Tehran, according to human rights activists.

Samak “was targeted directly and shot in the head by security forces … following the defeat of the national team against America”, said the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR).

The contest between the two countries which severed diplomatic ties more than 40 years ago took place against a backdrop of violent repression in Iran after protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, in September.

Iran’s security forces have killed at least 448 people in the crackdown on the protests, including 60 children under the age of 18 and 29 women, according to IHR.

In an extraordinary twist, Iranian international midfielder Saeid Ezatolahi, who played in the US match and is from Bandar Anzali, revealed that he knew Samak and posted a picture of them together in a youth football team.

“After last night’s bitter loss, the news of your passing set fire to my heart,” said Ezatolahi on Instagram, describing Samak as a “childhood teammate”.

A screengrab of Saeid Ezatolahi’s Instagram post.
A screengrab of Saeid Ezatolahi’s Instagram post. Photograph: Instagram

He did not comment on the circumstances of his friend’s death but said: “Some day the masks will fall, the truth will be laid bare.”

He added: “This is not what our youth deserve. This is not what our nation deserves.”

Ezatolahi, distraught at the result, had been seen after the final whistle being comforted both by his teammates and the US players.

Many Iranians had refused to support the national team, and after the match on Tuesday night, footage on social media showed crowds cheering and setting off fireworks.

The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) also reported that Samak had been killed by the security forces while celebrating. CHRI published a video from Samak’s funeral in Tehran on Wednesday at which mourners could be heard shouting “death to the dictator”. The chant, aimed at Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is one of the main slogans of the protests.

Late on Tuesday, the exiled Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad posted videos of celebrations on Twitter, writing: “Iran is a country where people are very passionate about football. Now they are out in the streets in the city of Sanandaj and celebrate the loss of their football team against the US.” She also posted a video of fireworks being let off in Saqqez, Mahsa Amini’s home town.

Iran is a country where people are very passionate about football. Now they are out in the streets in the city of Sanandaj & celebrate the loss of their football team against US.
They don’t want the government use sport to normalize its murderous regime.pic.twitter.com/EMh8mREsQn pic.twitter.com/MqpxQZqT20

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) November 29, 2022

Iranians also celebrated in Marivan, which was among the cities in western Iran’s Kurdish-populated regions where, on 21 November, security forces intensified a crackdown that killed a dozen people over 24 hours, directly shooting at protesters and using heavy weapons, rights groups said.

There were also celebrations in Tehran and Sanandaj, Kurdistan’s capital.

The celebrations came after fans outside the stadium in Doha sought to highlight the protests and the Iranian government’s crackdown. “Everybody should know about this. We don’t have a voice in Iran,” an Iranian living in the US, who gave his name only as Sam, told Reuters.

Speaking by phone from Tehran shortly before kick-off, Elham, 21, said she wanted the US to win because victory for the national squad, known as Team Melli, would be a gift for Iranian authorities. “This is not my national team. It is not the melli team, it is the mullahs’ team,” she said.

Iranians celebrate the loss of the Islamic Republic’s national team against the US.

A pinnacle in the history of Iran:

A country where soccer is revered and the national team was worshipped – people are celebrating being booted out of the World Cup. https://t.co/yOrBvieOQE

— Nahayat Tizhoosh (@NahayatT) November 29, 2022

Extra security personnel, some mounted on horseback, patrolled outside the Al Thumama stadium before the match, while guards at the perimeter made Iranians unfurl their flags before entering. Police were stationed throughout the stadium alongside regular security guards. Some carried batons.

Early in the second half, a group of fans briefly held up letters spelling Mahsa Amini’s name to applause from the Iranian supporters around them. Security personnel took their signs but allowed them to remain in their seats.

Under pressure to publicly support protesters at home, the Iranian team declined to sing the national anthem in their first game against England, which they lost 6-2. But they sang it before the second game, a 2-0 victory over Wales, and again on Tuesday. When Iran lost to England, there were celebrations in Tehran too.

Outside the stadium after the match, Reuters journalists saw security chase two people in a series of scuffles on the ground’s perimeter. Three guards pinned one man to the ground who was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “woman, life, freedom”, the central slogan of the Iranian protest movement.



Iranians celebrate World Cup exit to US in solidarity with protests | World Cup 2022


Some Iranians have celebrated their team’s loss to the US and subsequent exit from the World Cup, as demonstrations against the government’s treatment of protesters took place inside and outside the stadium in Qatar and across Iran.

The contest between the Iranian and American sides, whose countries severed diplomatic ties more than 40 years ago, took place under increased security to prevent a flare-up over the anti-government protests that have taken place across Iran since the death in custody of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini on 16 September.

When the match was lost, the Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad posted videos of celebrations on Twitter, writing: “Iran is a country where people are very passionate about football. Now they are out in the streets in the city of Sanandaj and celebrate the loss of their football team against US.” She also posted a video of fireworks being let off in Saqqez, Mahsa Amini’s home town.

Iran is a country where people are very passionate about football. Now they are out in the streets in the city of Sanandaj & celebrate the loss of their football team against US.
They don’t want the government use sport to normalize its murderous regime.pic.twitter.com/EMh8mREsQn pic.twitter.com/MqpxQZqT20

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) November 29, 2022

In 2019, Iranian women were allowed to enter a football stadium for the first time in 40 years, but have been permitted to attend only a handful of national matches since, according to Al Jazeera.

“The Islamic Republic banned women from entering stadiums for 40 years and now people are chanting ‘woman, life, freedom’ to celebrate being booted out of the World Cup,” Alinejad wrote above a video from Kermanshah in western Iran.

The Islamic Republic banned women from entering stadiums for 40 years and now people are chanting “Woman, life, Freedom” to celebrate being booted out of the World Cup.
This is the city of Kermanshah.#MahsaAminipic.twitter.com/D0sqqpVsK4

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) November 29, 2022

Iranians also celebrated in Marivan, which was among the cities in western Iran’s Kurdish-populated regions where, on 21 November, security forces intensified a crackdown that killed a dozen people over 24 hours, directly shooting at protesters and using heavy weapons, rights groups said.

There were also celebrations in Tehran and Sanandaj, Kurdistan’s capital.

Iranians celebrate the loss of the Islamic Republic’s national team against the US.

A pinnacle in the history of Iran:

A country where soccer is revered and the national team was worshipped – people are celebrating being booted out of the World Cup. https://t.co/yOrBvieOQE

— Nahayat Tizhoosh (@NahayatT) November 29, 2022

Sine (Sanandaj), Kurdistan, right now. People across Iran are out celebrating the loss of Islamic Republic of Iran’s national soccer team against the United States at the World Cup tonight. They’re going home, losing the game and not really winning the heart of the people either. pic.twitter.com/1gwnh2Ebxx

— Beri Shalmashi (@BeriShalmashi) November 29, 2022

The celebrations came after fans outside the stadium in Doha sought to highlight the protests and the Iranian government’s crackdown. “Everybody should know about this. We don’t have voice in Iran,” an Iranian living in the US, who gave his name only as Sam, told Reuters.

Speaking by phone from Tehran shortly before kick-off, 21-year-old Elham said she wanted the US to win because victory for the national squad, known as Team Melli, would be a gift for Iranian authorities. “This is not my national team. It is not the Melli team, it is the mullahs’ team,” she said.

Extra security personnel, some mounted on horseback, patrolled outside the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha before the match, while guards at the perimeter made Iranians unfurl their flags before entering. Police were stationed throughout the stadium alongside regular security guards. Some carried batons.

Early in the second half, a group of fans briefly held up letters spelling Mahsa Amini’s name, to applause from Iranian supporters around them. Security personnel took their signs but allowed them to remain in their seats.

Spectators match pay tribute to Mahsa Amini
Spectators match pay tribute to Mahsa Amini. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Under pressure to publicly support protesters at home, the Iranian team declined to sing the national anthem in their first game against England, which they lost 6-2. But they sang it before the second game, a 2-0 victory over Wales, and again on Tuesday. When Iran lost to England, there were celebrations in Tehran too.

Outside the stadium after the match, Reuters journalists saw security chase two people in a series of scuffles on the ground’s perimeter. Three guards pinned one man to the ground, who was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “woman, life, freedom”, the central slogan of the Iranian protest movement.

The man repeatedly yelled “woman, life, freedom” as guards were on top of him. A witness told Reuters the altercation began when guards attempted to remove the man’s shirt.

In the second half of the match, five members of the Russian activist punk group Pussy Riot stood in the stadium stands wearing green balaclavas and T-shirts that read “woman, life, freedom”. On the back, the shirts carried the names of people killed in Iran, along with their ages, Nika Nikulshina, a group member, told Reuters.

Members of Pussy Riot wear T-Shirts bearing the name of women killed in Iran, with their ages, during the match between Iran and United States of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in Doha.
Members of Pussy Riot during the match. Photograph: Cinema for Peace Foundation/Reuters

“It’s our gesture of support for Iranian women and we want to highlight that Iran is sending drones to Russia to kill Ukraine. We want to remind everyone that there is not only Fifa and fun, and that there’s a war going on,” she said.

Stadium security removed the balaclavas and after the match, “politely” escorted the women out of the stadium, said Nikulshina, who invaded the pitch in 2018 during the World Cup final in Moscow.



OneLove armband sends ‘very divisive message’, says Qatar official | World Cup 2022


The head of Qatar’s World Cup organising committee has accused teams who wanted to wear the OneLove armband at the World Cup of sending a “very divisive message” to the Islamic and Arab world.

Hassan al-Thawadi’s comments came as the UK sports minister Stuart Andrew said he would wear the rainbow-coloured armband at the England v Wales match on Tuesday.

The Conservative frontbencher, who is gay, said it was “really unfair” that Fifa had threatened sporting sanctions at the 11th hour against seven European teams who had planned to wear the anti-discrimination symbol in Qatar, forcing them to protest in other ways.

“I want to show support and I was delighted to see that the German minister who attended a recent match has worn it, I think it is important that I do so,” he added.

However, Thawadi – secretary general of the supreme World Cup committee for delivery and legacy – said he had an “issue” with the armband because he saw it as a protest against Islamic values and an Islamic country hosting such a major event.

“If the teams decided to do it throughout the entire season, that is one thing,” he said, when asked if he felt nervous about armbands. “But if you’re coming to make a point, or a statement in Qatar, that is something I have an issue with. And it goes back to the simple fact that this is a part of the world that has its own set of values.

“This is not Qatar I’m talking about, it’s the Arab world,” he added. “For the teams to come and preach or make statements, that’s fine. But what you’re essentially saying is you’re protesting an Islamic country hosting an event. Where does that end? Does that mean no Islamic country can never be able to participate in anything?

“There’s going to be different values and different views coming in. So, for me, if you’re going to come specifically to make a statement here in Qatar – or specifically addressed to Qatar and by extension, the Islamic world – it leaves a very divisive message.”

Same-sex relationships are illegal in Qatar and while organisers and Fifa have repeated the message that “everyone is welcome” during the World Cup, it is unclear whether laws that criminalise acts such as kissing in public have been suspended.

Fans attending matches have also had rainbow items, including T-shirts and Wales bucket hats, confiscated by officials, before Fifa later said they should be allowed in stadiums.

But Thawadi said organisers only wanted visitors to respect the culture and religion of the region. “These values are regional,” he added. “It’s for the Islamic world, it’s for the Arab world, it’s for the Middle East. There are certain things that we will not agree upon. But let us find a way of coexisting and moving forward, one way or the other. That is where mutual respect is fundamental.”

In his interview with the TalkSport UK radio station, Thawadi also defended the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, for his pre-tournament remarks in which he said he felt Qatari, Arabic, African, gay and disabled, before warning western countries that they were in no position to give morality lessons to Qatar given their past and current behaviour.

“For a lot of people in Qatar and the Arab world what he said to a large extent reflected the frustration of 13 years being presented in a certain way in the media,” said Thawadi.

“A lot of Arabs that I’ve talked to have admired what he said. It addressed the fact that people did feel that the outside world is coming and passing judgment unequivocally on our part of the world – on us as people, on the Arab world and the Middle East.”

How many migrant workers have died in Qatar? What we know about the human cost of the 2022 World Cup | World Cup 2022


The deaths of migrant workers in Qatar in the build-up to this year’s World Cup have drawn criticism across the world. While the tournament’s organizers put the official count at 40, estimates by the Guardian put the figure in the thousands. Here we explore the key questions around an issue that has tarnished the World Cup for many fans.

Why is this World Cup so controversial?

World soccer’s governing body, Fifa, awarded Qatar – a country slightly smaller than Connecticut with scant soccer pedigree – the tournament in December 2010 in a bidding process that, according to American authorities, was riddled with corruption. The shock decision sparked a frenzy of construction in the wealthy nation, which this year became the planet’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas.

The high profile of the tournament has drawn attention to Qatar’s dubious human rights record, including its hostility towards LGBT people, and the dangerous and exploitative conditions faced by the vast numbers of migrant workers who have built the infrastructure.

“Migrant workers were indispensable to making the World Cup 2022 possible, but it has come at great cost for many migrant workers and their families who not only made personal sacrifices, but also faced widespread wage theft, injuries, and thousands of unexplained deaths,” said Rothna Begum, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch.

How many migrant workers are in Qatar and where do they come from?

The population of Qatar is about three million, roughly 88% of whom are foreign citizens. The migrant workforce is estimated at two million, comprising 95% of the labor force. About a million people are employed in construction and another 100,000 are domestic workers. Mostly men, a large percentage come from the Philippines and south Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.

What are they building?

The first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup finals, Qatar has spent anywhere from $220bn-$300bn on infrastructure projects as it uses the globe’s biggest sporting event as a catalyst for nation-building.

At a cost of $6.5bn, Qatar has built seven new stadiums for the tournament and renovated an eighth. Other construction projects have included major upgrades to public transport and roads, and new skyscrapers, hotels and housing, as well as Lusail, a new city that will host the final.

What is the latest death toll?

The official count among workers on World Cup sites is 37 non-work related deaths and only three from work-related accidents but many believe that is a vast undercount.

The problem is that it is hard to associate a firm figure with the tournament and to assess how many deaths were preventable given the lack of available information. Fifa and the Qatari organizers have sought to distance World Cup-related construction from more general projects, though it is likely that many of these would not have been commissioned without the tournament-inspired boom. And they have been on tight deadlines to be ready for the influx of an estimated 1.2 million soccer fans.

Overall, 15,021 non-Qataris died in the country between 2010 and 2019, according to the government. A Guardian analysis in February 2021 found that more than 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died in Qatar since the award of the tournament. The death records were not categorised by occupation or place of work. The government has said that 30,000 foreign laborers were employed to build World Cup stadiums.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) found that in 2020, 50 people suffered work-related deaths, 500 were seriously injured, and 37,600 sustained mild to moderate injuries.

How are workers dying?

Average high temperatures in Qatar exceed 100F (37.7C) for five months of the year. Though the tournament was moved from summer to winter for the safety and comfort of players, officials and fans, workers are at risk of accidents, heat-related illnesses and other ailments related to the physical and mental strains of working long hours in extreme heat. Suicide is also a concern. Construction workers frequently live in squalid conditions that stand in stark contrast with the opulence of many of the facilities they build.

The Qatari government has argued that “the mortality rate among these communities is within the expected range for the size and demographics of the population.” But statistics show that a large number of young or middle-aged men from Nepal, who would have undergone health checks before being allowed to enter Qatar, have died from heart problems.

Following on from reporting by the Guardian’s Pete Pattisson, an Amnesty International report from 2021 accused Qatar of “routinely [issuing] death certificates for migrant workers without conducting adequate investigations, instead attributing deaths to ‘natural causes’ or vaguely defined cardiac failures” – making it impossible for bereaved families to claim compensation.

The organization found that as many of 70% of migrant deaths are classified imprecisely, with Guardian data suggesting that 69% of deaths among Indian, Nepali and Bangladeshi workers have been categorised as natural. The ILO report states that falls from height and road traffic accidents were the leading causes of severe injuries.

In 2021 the Guardian highlighted the deaths of workers such as Gangaram Mandal, a laborer from Nepal who came to Qatar in 2018 in order to support his wife and seven daughters. He borrowed money to pay a recruitment fee then earned the equivalent of a dollar a day. After two years he fell ill at the end of a shift during the summer. His death was classed as “heart failure, natural causes”.

What have the Qatari authorities done?

The country has introduced labor law reforms in the past five years, though critics charge that these do not go far enough to protect workers and that enforcement is patchy. “Thousands of workers across all projects are still facing issues such as delayed or unpaid wages, denial of rest days, unsafe working conditions, barriers to changing jobs, and limited access to justice, while the deaths of thousands of workers remain uninvestigated,” according to Amnesty. A minimum wage for all workers equivalent to about $275 a month came into force in 2021.

What have the soccer authorities said?

Teams such as Denmark and the Netherlands have been far more vocal in their criticism of working conditions and human rights than Fifa, which has banned players from wearing “OneLove” rainbow armbands. Shortly before the tournament the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, urged teams to “focus on the football”.

Infantino later claimed Fifa deserved credit for influencing Qatar to improve standards, including abolishing its abusive “kafala” worker sponsorship system, and said that criticism of the country reeked of Western hypocrisy.

Concerns about LGBT rights, forced labor and unsafe conditions also marred the previous World Cup, in Russia in 2018. A report by the Building and Wood Workers’ International union group found that 21 construction workers died building stadiums in Russia, mostly as a result of falls from heights or being struck by falling equipment.



‘A historic moment’: Japanese World Cup hopes surge ahead of crucial Costa Rica match | World Cup 2022


After Japan’s stunning victory over Germany in their opening match of the Qatar World Cup, fans of the Samurai Blue are daring to dream their team could reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

Their remarkable comeback last week has electrified Japan, where hardcore and casual fans alike stayed up until midnight to watch their victory over the four-time world champions.

“We’re just one game in, but Japan are already exceeding expectations,” said Dan Orlowitz, a sports reporter with the Japan Times. “I would have been more than happy with a draw against Germany, but to actually get the win is phenomenal.”

Japan’s travelling fans have already endeared themselves to their hosts, not least for cleaning up after themselves following the Germany match – a ritual that stretches back decades. That goodwill extends to the team, who left stadium staff gifts of origami paper cranes in their spotless dressing room.

Japan’s players, who are up against Costa Rica today, say they are spearheading an Asian challenge to football royalty from Europe and South America – a mission whose accomplishments include Saudi Arabia’s shock win over Argentina.

“It certainly feels like this could turn out to be a great tournament for Asian countries,” said Jeremy Walker, editor of Sporting Asia, the Olympic Council of Asia’s official magazine. “The wins for Saudi Arabia and Japan were a huge step forward for Asian football, especially in the Middle East,” said Walker, who has reported on Japan at three World Cups and is now based in Kuwait.

Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu with his players during training
Hajime Moriyasu with his players during training. The Japan coach described his country’s defeat of Germany as a historic moment. Photograph: Lee Smith/Reuters

“The locals here were cheering for Japan, too, so there is a strong feeling of pride that Asian teams have beaten two superpowers in Argentina and Germany. Qatar and Iran were disappointing in their first matches, but Saudi Arabia and Japan have changed the atmosphere. But can an Asian team reach the semi-finals, like South Korea in 2002? That’s going to be very tough.”

Orlowitz agrees the tide has turned for Asian teams after Qatar and Iran lost their opening matches. “I think there was a lot of concern among Asian football watchers early on with Qatar and Iran, but since then Asia has had a very respectable showing. The challenge will be getting into the quarter-finals. It may be too early to start thinking about that, but there’s room for hope.”

Japan’s coach, Hajime Moriyasu, could cement his newfound status as national hero if he achieves his goal of taking Japan to the last eight for the first time since their World Cup debut at France 1998, and four years after they came agonisingly close in Russia.

“I believe it’s a historic moment, a historic victory,” he said after the Germany game. “If I think about the development of Japanese soccer, thinking of the players, for them this was a big surprise.”

While Moriyasu revelled in his players’ heroics, fans back home were awaiting the next appearance by Taiyo, an eight-year-old river otter at an aquarium in Tokyo, which predicted Japan would beat Germany the day before the match.

If they repeat the feat against Costa Rica, they could make the knockout stages irrespective of the result of their final group match against Spain. But as the team’s fans anticipated a second raucous night of celebration this weekend, the players were trying – with little success – to play down their prospects.

“We haven’t changed history yet, but I think it was a historic match, so I celebrated with my teammates,” said Ritsu Doan, who scored Japan’s first goal against Germany. “But from today, I’ve changed my mindset and am preparing for the Costa Rica game. It’s important not to get big-headed.”



Richarlison praised as ‘idol Brazilians deserve’ after Bolsonaro era | Brazil


Richarlison’s “balletic barnstormer” has been called one of the great World Cup goals; an unstoppable scissor kick that launched Brazil’s campaign in Qatar with a bang. But after his thrilling two-goal blitz against Serbia, the Tottenham forward is being celebrated as much more than just a sporting hero.

Brazilian fans, pundits and politicians lined up to hail Richarlison as a paragon of human decency, compassion and good sense after four gruelling years in which Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right government divided society, wrecked the environment and mishandled a Covid outbreak that killed nearly 700,000 citizens.

“Richarlison is the idol Brazilians deserve after so much suffering,” the sports journalist Talyta Vespa wrote on Friday in one of many tributes to the player’s off-field activism and charity work.

Richarlison – or the Pigeon, as fans know him, thanks to his avian-style celebrations – is by far the most progressive member of Brazil’s seleção. In recent years, as his homeland fell under the control of Bolsonaro’s far-right administration, Richarlison has repeatedly spoken out on topics such as racism, poverty, police and gender violence, LGBTQ+ rights and environmental destruction.

He questioned how Brazil’s yellow jersey had been dragged into the country’s political dispute, and adopted a jaguar to highlight the threats to Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands.

A selection of Brazilian newspaper front pages on Friday.
A selection of Brazilian newspaper front pages on Friday.

When the British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira vanished in the Amazon in June, Richarlison was one of the first celebrities to champion the campaign to try to find them. “On top of everything, he’s sensitive and committed to Brazil,” Pereira’s widow, Beatriz Matos, tweeted at the player on Friday.

During Brazil’s devastating coronavirus emergency – which Bolsonaro called a “little flu” – Richarlison publicly backed vaccination efforts that the science-denying president had actively undermined.

“He’s not only a star on the pitch, he’s a star off it too,” said the favela activist Rene Silva, remembering how Richarlison donated oxygen cylinders to the Amazon city of Manaus when its healthcare system buckled during the pandemic.

Juca Kfouri, one of Brazil’s top football writers, said the outpouring of adoration for Richarlison, while perhaps slightly excessive, reflected how millions of progressive fans were desperate to fall back in love with a team that many had grown profoundly disillusioned with.

Particularly to blame for that estrangement was Neymar, who alienated millions of progressive Brazilians by supporting Bolsonaro’s failed re-election bid and then promising to dedicate his first World Cup goal to him. Other players, including the defender Dani Alves, have also backed Bolsonaro, who lost October’s election to the former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

“Richarlison represents a more loving, more affectionate side to the Brazilian seleção,” said Kfouri. “He’s seen as being a citizen who actually cares about Brazil.”

Bolsonaro has fallen silent since losing last month’s election and has said nothing of Brazil’s triumph in Qatar. Leftwing politicians, in contrast, were united in their commemoration of Richarlison and his teammate Vinícius Júnior, who helped create Thursday’s sensational goal and has also been outspoken on issues such as racism.

“Much more than a great player, Richarlison is a model citizen,” tweeted the Worker’s party politician Paulo Pimenta.

Writing in the black website Alma Preta, the journalist Pedro Borges described the state of ecstasy he had found himself in after watching Richarlison and Vinícius shine. He wrote: “Not just because of Brazil’s victory … [but] because the standout players were black athletes who respect our history, who didn’t ignore the suffering of the people and who understand the role they have in our country.”

Rene Silva said Richarlison’s off-field endeavours, which also include helping cancer patients, made him an inspiration to children and teens. “He is a Brazilian idol,” Silva said. “After everything we have been through, this was a moment of hope.”

The World Cup tension the west is not seeing: Israelis told to keep low profile | World Cup 2022


One video shows an Egyptian football fan smiling serenely as an Israeli broadcaster introduces him live on air. Then he leans into the microphone with a message: “Viva Palestine.”

Another clip from the streets of Doha this week shows a group of Lebanese men walking away from a live interview with a reporter they have just learned is Israeli. One shouts over his shoulder: “There is no Israel. It’s Palestine.”

As hundreds of thousands of people from around the world have poured into Qatar this week for the World Cup, these are among the awkward encounters between Arab football fans and Israeli journalists that have gone viral on Middle Eastern social media, one of many sources of political friction at a tournament that has not yet shaken off its myriad controversies.

For the host country, staging the World Cup has involved delicate negotiations over the presence of LGBTQ+ fans, public displays of affection and the availability of beer and wine. Less prominent in the west, but no less fraught, has been the emirate’s accommodation of Israeli football fans and media, a concession to Fifa’s rules for hosting the multibillion-dollar tournament.

Qatar does not have official ties with Israel but has given special permission for direct flights from Tel Aviv and allowed Israeli diplomats to be stationed at a travel agency in the country to give their nationals consular support. Conscious of domestic opinion, however, it has insisted the measures are strictly temporary and not steps towards a normalisation agreement of the kind signed by several other Arab states in recent years.

Though neither Israel nor Palestine are playing in the tournament, the latter has featured prominently at the Middle East’s first World Cup. Before Sunday’s opening match, a phalanx of Qatari men marched into the Al Bayt Stadium chanting, “Everyone is welcome,” carrying with them a large Palestinian flag. “We are taking care of people in Palestine, and all Muslim people and Arab countries are holding up Palestinian flags because we’re for them,” the flag bearer told the Guardian.

Flight screens at Tel Aviv airport. Qatar has given special permission for direct flights.
Flight screens at Tel Aviv airport. Qatar has given special permission for direct flights to and from Israel. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Fans from Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Algeria have also carried Palestinian flags prominently at matches and worn them as capes around their necks. On Thursday, Randa Ahmer, a young Palestinian woman, stood in Doha’s bustling Souq Waqif holding a Palestinian flag above the international crowd. “It’s our country, we’re going to carry our flag everywhere,” she said, as passersby shouted messages of support.

Fifa trumpeted its agreement with Qatar to allow Israelis to fly to Doha by claiming the deal also allowed Palestinians to make the journey from Tel Aviv, but nearly a week into the tournament, it was unclear how many had been able to surmount the extensive Israeli security checks required to make the journey. Some of those who had made it to Qatar had come via Jordan or Egypt.

As of the beginning of the tournament, nearly 4,000 Israeli and 8,000 Palestinian fans had received entry visas to Qatar, though Israel’s foreign minister said it was expected as many as 20,000 Israelis could ultimately end up going.

A kosher kitchen has been set up near Doha’s airport to provide Israeli fans with a place to gather and food that conforms with religious requirements.

Preparing to arrive in Doha over the weekend, Duby Nevo, an Israeli national, said he was watching the reports of Palestinian activism at the tournament with some concern. “I hope that Qataris are welcoming and everything will be fine,” he said. “I really hope to meet people from all over the world and especially from Arabic countries – if they want to make friends. I just want to enjoy [the football], no conflicts whatsoever.”

Another Israeli man, who gave only his first name Bahaa, said the organisation of the tournament and atmosphere in the country were excellent, but there was one drawback: “The majority of the masses here do not accept the presence of Israelis.”

Others said they were finding a welcoming environment, but taking precautions. “We’re not afraid to be here in Qatar as Israelis, they are very kind and we don’t feel the politics between the countries,” said Omer Laufer. “Sometimes we say that we are from Cyprus – but just to people from Arab countries.”

As the viral videos have shown, it is Israeli media outlets that have borne the brunt of the lingering antipathy with which their country is regarded by Arab populations, even if many of their governments have now signed agreements acknowledging Israeli sovereignty, started building trade ties and brought their security cooperation out into the open.

Israel’s Channel 13 sports reporter Tal Shorrer told Associated Press that while his interactions with Qatari officials had been pleasant, he had been shoved and insulted by Palestinians and other Arab fans during his live broadcasts from the city.

When a mobile phone seller noticed his friend’s settings in Hebrew, Shorrer said the man exploded with anger, screaming at the Israeli to get out of the country.

“I was so excited to come in with an Israeli passport, thinking it was going to be something positive,” he said. “It’s sad, it’s unpleasant. People were cursing and threatening us.”

On Friday, a reporter from Israel’s public broadcaster Kan had a more enjoyable brush with fans, mobbed by jubilant Iranian supporters celebrating their 2-0 victory over Wales, who dressed him a jester’s hat in the national colours while anchors back in the studio watched on, laughing.

Aware of the sensitivities of a tournament that will attract thousands of arrivals from hostile countries such as Iran, and where unlike in previous tournaments, all of the estimated 1.2 million foreign fans will be living cheek-by-jowl in one city, Israeli diplomats have produced videos asking their nationals to keep a low profile.

“Downplay your Israeli presence and Israeli identity for the sake of your personal security,” said Lior Haiat, an Israeli diplomat, addressing fans.



Inside Qatar’s ‘other’ fan zone: a night watching football with Qatar’s migrant workers | World Cup 2022


It has the big screen, the pumping music and the Fifa branding, but this is a fan zone with a difference. There are no visiting supporters, no women, no team colours and certainly no beer. The clue is in the venue: a cricket stadium on the edge of Doha. Inside, thousands of mostly south Asian low-wage labourers, fill the stands or sit cross-legged on the grassy outfield.

It is a world away from the polished face of Doha that most fans will see. The stadium fan zone is within Asian Town, a shopping and entertainment complex purpose-built for Qatar’s migrant workers about 30 minutes by car from the city centre. A vast expanse of warehouses, workshops and accommodation blocks stretches out for miles on one side, housing hundreds of thousands of workers, often in grim, crowded dorms.

On a wall near the entrance to the fan zone, a banner in Arabic, English and Hindi reads: “Thanks for your contributions for delivering the best Fifa World Cup ever.”

Visitors to the fan zone for migrant workers in Doha, Qatar during an evening event.
The entrance to the fan zone for migrant workers in Doha, Qatar. Photograph: Pete Pattisson

Many here probably played a part in building the stadiums and infrastructure for the tournament, but gratitude has its limits. While some match tickets went on sale for Qatar residents for just 40 rials (£9), no one the Guardian spoke to had managed to get one. Any that were available were far too expensive for workers who earn as little as £225 a month.

Without a match ticket, they are unable to register for a Hayya card, which is needed to enter the main fan zones in Doha. Even if they could, the efficient and cheap Metro does not reach this part of the city, forcing workers to take more costly alternatives.

The fan zone, and Asian Town itself, highlight the parallel lives that many migrant workers inhabit. Critics say it entrenches divisions, the unspoken message being: you can have your restaurants, shops and fan zone, as long as you don’t come to ours.

In the migrant worker fan zone in Doha, Qatar, people watch the Spain v Costa Rica match at night on a big screen.
People watch the Spain v Costa Rica match in the migrant worker fan zone. Photograph: Pete Pattisson

As the match between Spain and Costa Rica kicks off, Dilip Kumar Mandal from Nepal looks thrilled. “I come every night. I like the environment,” he says. Asked which team he is supporting, he pauses and says, “The red one.”

“I’d like to be in a stadium, but I have no money. Whatever I earn, I have to send home for my children’s education,” he adds.

Mandal, a mason, is just happy to be there. Before the World Cup began, 350 of his workmates were ordered home, as his company, like many others, wound down its work on instructions from the government.

As Spain score their first goal, he punches the air. “Yes! I knew they’d score,” he says, his face glowing red in the light of the giant screen.

Sitting nearby, Stephen* from Ghana works at the airport, transferring inflight meals to the planes. It’s his day off, but during the week, “All I do is work, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep,” he says. Like Dilip, he could not afford a match ticket, but unlike him, he speaks about football as fluently as the Spanish play it. As another goal slides in, he enthuses about Ghana’s chances: “I just hope I can get off work to watch them,” he says.

As half-time approaches, hundreds surge towards the stage, and are soon rewarded, not by another goal, but by an MC and her four female dancers. She gives a shoutout to, “My African friends”, before reeling off the other countries that make up the bulk of Qatar’s migrant workforce: India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

Close up images of visitors to the migrant workers fan zone on the edge of Doha, Qatar, during an evening World Cup match.
Some workers are happy to be in Qatar for the World Cup having seen workmates sent home pre-tournament as firms wound down their operations. Photograph: Pete Pattisson

There are no team colours or flags on display. With the exception of Ghana, none of these nations qualified for the World Cup and so decisions about who to support appear to be determined by a favourite player or the colour of a shirt.

In the stands, Mohammed Malik from Bangladesh says he comes to watch the matches every day. He has nothing better to do. “My company stopped sending us to work because we can’t access our worksite during the World Cup. They’ve stopped paying us too,” says the 42-year-old carpenter.

Yam Kumar Rajbanshi, a forklift operator, is another regular in the fan zone. “I come every night. I love football more than cricket. Brazil will win,” he says confidently. Rajbanshi, from Nepal, said a ticket for a match cost too much – half his monthly salary – but he did not seem to care. “It’s better to watch here!”

Migrant workers watch Qatar v Ecuador on a big screen from the cricket ground fan zone on the edge of Doha.
Migrant workers watch Qatar v Ecuador from the cricket ground fan zone on the edge of Doha. Photograph: Marko Đurica/Reuters

As Spain stroll to a 7-0 win, the workers who helped make it possible, saunter back to their dorms, a band of south Indian drummers sending them on their way.

* name changed to protect the individual’s identity