Issues that Occur at The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Starting from LGBT to Allegations of Paid Spectators

Issues that Occur at The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Starting from LGBT to Allegations of Paid Spectators ( Image Edited by : edoreo)

The size and nature of sports events vary, but many hold a lot of attraction for both domestic and foreign tourists. The tourism sector views them as a key component of destination product development and marketing strategy.

How to increase visitor arrivals and sales. Due to the perception that sporting events contribute to political and social objectives, there are additional justifications for official engagement. Hosting used to be mostly the domain of the industrialized world, but smaller countries and towns are increasingly vying to host renowned sporting events, which are subsequently promoted as tourism destinations and used to advance various governmental goals.

Several Gulf States that are wealthy in oil are experiencing the phenomena. The decision by FIFA to award the small Persian Gulf State of Qatar the right to host the 2022 World Cup finals stunned the entire world in 2010. They managed to get 11 votes in the vote obtained from the executive members of the Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) This makes Qatar the first Arab country to host the World Cup. They managed to get 11 votes in the vote obtained from the executive members of the International Football Federation (FIFA). This makes Qatar the first Arab country to host the World Cup. after defeating other candidates such as Australia, United States, South Korea and Japan.

Another reason that underlies Qatar as the host is because they have created world-class stadiums in close proximity to each other, with a distance of no more than 50 kilometers from one place to another.

This choice strengthened Qatar's ambition to establish itself as a top sporting nation.

Because of its objectives, current accomplishments, character, and the controversy surrounding the bidding process, which has been tarnished by claims of corruption, Qatar is a significant host.

Following an overview of the main concerns and a discussion of the main arguments for and against hosting large sporting events, it is examined to what extent these issues still apply in the case of the 2022 World Cup. Following a summary and conclusion, opportunities and challenges are discussed along with Qatar's advantages and disadvantages as a host. However, hosting the World Cup is a lengthy process, and there are several years before the event.

As a result, some comments are speculative, and it is suggested that the matter merits monitoring as it develops and more investigation.

The prestigious 2022 World Cup football tournament was held on November 20 2022 and will continue until December 18 2022 at 8 main Qatari stadiums namely Lusail, Al Bayt, 974, Al Thumama, Khalifa International, Education City, Ahmad bin Ali and AlJanoub.

As many as 32 teams from various countries will compete for an honorable position at the 2022 World Cup. The Qatar vs Ecuador match will be the first match in the Group A phase.

The opening ceremony for the 2022 World Cup yesterday was held at the Al Bayt stadium, Qatar and was enlivened by many famous musicians such as J. Balvin, Nora Fatehi, Black Eyed Peas, Jungkook BTS, Nicki Minaj, Maluma and Myriam Fares.

This World Cup is quite interesting because it was held in winter. Usually, the football event which takes place once every four years is held in the summer or spring.

However, there are several things to note for Qatar as the host because it is the first time the World Cup has been held in a Middle Eastern country. However, this milestone has also contributed to making this quadrennial tournament full of controversy, ranging from LGBT issues to paid spectators

1. LGBT issues to the threat of sanctions from FIFA

LGBT and sex outside of marriage is considered a crime under Qatari law which carries a criminal penalty. This has become a serious concern for a number of world football fans, especially in Europe, who have spoken out loud about the rights of LGBT groups. Some of them claimed to have canceled watching live in Qatar because they felt unsafe.

The national teams (timnas) from European countries competing in the 2022 World Cup had planned to wear an armband with the "OneLove" logo to support LGBTQ rights during the tournament, but they abandoned this intention after receiving a warning from the International Football Federation (FIFA) that they can be punished.

In Wednesday's match (24/11/2022), the German national team made a silent pose during the photo session before the match against Japan. The silent action was a form of protest against FIFA's threats which were considered to silence their voices. Denmark is also a country that has threatened to leave FIFA.

Like England and Wales, which planned to wear the 'One Love' captain's armband before finally refusing because of potential punishment from FIFA.

Danish FA head [DBU] Jesper Moller said Denmark was considering leaving FIFA and was ready to talk to UEFA's 55 member countries, including England.

They are all willing to discuss the possibility of withdrawing from the world football body.

The DBU delegation expressed their "outrage" at the way FIFA has sanctioned the sport of seven captains who planned to wear the 'One Love' armband.

Denmark firmly, will no longer support high-ranking FIFA Gianni Infantino in his bid to seek re-election as president in the next term.

In addition, one of the supporters of the Wales national team was also banned from entering the stadium because he was wearing a rainbow hat. One of the journalists from the United States also experienced the same thing because he was wearing a rainbow shirt.

Not only that, some time ago England, Denmark and Germany had threatened to leave FIFA for banning the LGBT campaign at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Unlike the previous countries, the French national team rejected the pressure of the French Minister of Sport Amelie Oudea Castera who wanted to see the Les Bleus squad carry out a campaign of support for the LGBT community at the 2022 World Cup.

The French squad from the start did not want to get involved in political issues and support campaigns for the LGBT community as England, Wales, Denmark, Canada, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland did.

France national team captain Hugo Lloris said he was reluctant to use the One Love captain's armband because he respected Qatar's culture and rules. Lloris also said the players were already feeling the pressure and just wanted to focus on playing.

But recently, the International Football Federation (FIFA) has again allowed spectators to use rainbow-colored attributes at the 2022 FIFA World Cup (2022 World Cup). The permit came into effect from the second round of the 2022 World Cup group stage.

Reporting from The Independent, Qatar as the host has also provided guarantees on this issue after a number of incidents related to the ban on the use of LGBT-themed attributes by the captains of seven UEFA member countries.

In addition, the 2022 World Cup Safety and Security Operational Committee said that it guarantees this. Mentioned, fans' items with rainbow nuances will not be confiscated when they want to enter the stadium.

In this report, The Independent said that the 2022 World Cup participating Federations had been informed by FIFA that fans who would be present at the stadium would no longer be prohibited from using rainbow attributes. However, there are still many parties who do not believe that FIFA will be responsible for the guarantees they convey.

Whereas previously, FIFA's ban regarding the use of rainbow attributes during the 2022 World Cup drew polemic from the public, even though prior to the event being held every four years, Qatar had said that LGBTQ+ was illegal in its country. If there are violations related to homosexuality, there is a penalty of imprisonment for up to three years.

2. Suspected of Falsifying Viewership Numbers

The International Football Federation (FIFA) recently updated the stadium capacity figures for the 2022 FIFA World Cup on its official website. This was done because of the many accusations that FIFA and Qatar as the host falsified the actual stadium capacity figures.

There have been allegations that Qatar and FIFA fabricated statistics about stadium attendance. According to British media outlet Mirror, the Al-Bayt Stadium held 60,000 spectators for the opening match of the 2022 World Cup between Qatar and Ecuador, although FIFA reported that the actual number of fans present was 67,372. Previously, the validity of the number of supporters who were present at the stadium was doubted by a number of parties. Because, in the four matches that were held, there were many empty seats in the stadium. The stadium's capacity was then revised to 68,895 spectators shortly after that.

The change also occurred at the Khalifa International Stadium. The stadium has a capacity of 40,000 spectators. However, FIFA stated on its website that the spectators present at the England vs Iran match totaled 45,334. After controversy arose and a re-examination, FIFA updated the stadium capacity figures to 45,857 on Tuesday (22/11/2022).

The changes didn't stop there, the Al Thumama Stadium, which witnessed the Netherlands' 2-0 win over Senegal, also became a public disappointment. At first, FIFA claimed that the stadium in Doha could accommodate 40,000 fans. However, when the match took place, many empty seats were seen, even though the number of spectators present numbered 41,721. After that, FIFA updated that the capacity of Al Thumama Stadium is 44,400.

The Lusail Stadium, which witnessed Argentina's defeat against Saudi Arabia, was also questioned and underwent a change in the number of stadium capacities. According to the spectators present at the stadium, there were a lot of empty seats in the stadium, even though FIFA stated that the number of people present was 88,012 out of the stadium's 80,000 capacity. As a result of these questions, FIFA again updated the total capacity of its stadium to 88,996.

Reporting from The Athletic, the addition of stadium capacity is known after all operational factors are taken into account, such as camera position and advertising platforms, so each seat is counted and the numbers are updated. However, the update came when the tension was already starting, and that's what caused the confusion.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said that three million spectators would flock to stadiums in Qatar for the World Cup. Infantino seems to have equated this target with the number of spectators for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, namely 3,031,768 spectators.

So far, the record for the most spectators attending the stadium was at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, namely 3,568,567 spectators.

On the other hand, based on a report by The Guardian, it is known that some Qatari citizens have exploited the ticket sales system. They bought more than 20 match tickets using two FIFA accounts. This could lead to two things, firstly, it would be too unlikely for a spectator who bought 20 tickets to attend every game he already bought tickets for (especially in the group stages) and, secondly, it could create the potential for brokering.

However, these statements are not in line with the evidence that in every Qatar 2022 World Cup match there are many empty seats in the stands.

3. Paid Audience Issue

Rumors about Qatar hiring spectators or supporters to enliven the 2022 World Cup have indeed developed in the past week. "Fan Leader Network" is Qatar's official 2022 World Cup program aimed at bloggers, influencers or leaders of the football community around the world. Broadly speaking, the Fan Leader Network is an attempt by the organizing committee for the Qatar 2022 World Cup to attract a large number of fans through key opinion leaders (KOL). Qatar has also reportedly opened registration for "paid spectators" to enliven the 2022 World Cup.

Supporters who register later are said to receive many facilities ranging from preload visas, travel and match tickets, hotel rooms, to daily allowances. Quoted from AFP, the daily allowance of Qatar's 2022 World Cup "paying spectators" reaches US$68, or around Rp. 1 million. The task of "paying spectators" as well as KOL who are members of the Fan Leader Network will not only enliven the match at the stadium. However, they are also tasked with reporting positive news on the Qatar 2022 World Cup through their respective social media.

In the last week, thousands of supporters seem to have flooded Qatar. However, the sight of thousands of supporters looked strange even though they were wearing the jerseys of the 2022 World Cup participating countries. The strangeness was related to the identities of the supporters in Qatar, most of whom came from Middle Eastern or other Asian countries such as India. Supporters from Middle Eastern countries or India seemed to support European teams such as England, Germany and France.

4. Banning the Sale of Beer at the 2022 World Cup Qatar

The International Football Federation (FIFA) has officially banned the sale of alcoholic beer to fans watching the 2022 World Cup (2022 World Cup) at eight World Cup stadiums, Friday (18/11/2022).

Reported by Channel News Asia, the announcement was officially issued by FIFA exactly two days before the kick-off of the inaugural 2022 World Cup after discussions with Qatar as the host. Previously, Qatar was one of the Muslim countries that had strict rules regarding alcohol.

Previously, Budweiser, one of the main sponsors of the World Cup, had the exclusive right to sell its beer, AB InBev, around the stadium, three hours before and one hour after each game.

However, the policy was finally revised after lengthy negotiations between FIFA President, Gianni Infantino; Budweiser; and the Executive of the Supreme Committee of Qatar.

The ban on the sale of alcohol in stadiums received many protests from football fans who came directly to Qatar. Fans from Ecuador even shouted "We want beer" while watching their favorite national team match against the host team Qatar.

FIFA emphasized that it and Qatar will continue to ensure that the stadium and its surroundings provide a fun, respectable and memorable experience for all fans of the national team (timnas) who will compete.

5. The issue of human rights violations of migrant workers

Several media outlets have also reported on the inhumane treatment of the thousands of migrant workers building infrastructure for the World Cup. The CNN report stated that a migrant worker from Nepal with the pseudonym Kamal had not received the promised bonus and was even sent to jail for unclear reasons.

However, the Qatari authorities themselves denied the report.

A Qatari government official told CNN in a statement: "Any claim that workers are jailed or deported without explanation is untrue. Action is only taken in very specific cases, for example if someone participates in violence."

Meanwhile, The Guardian reported last year that 6,500 South Asian migrant workers have died in Qatar since the country was confirmed to host the World Cup in 2010, most engaged in low-paying and dangerous work, often carried out in extreme heat.

Bruno Fernandes criticized the holding of the 2022 World Cup. The Portugal national team star highlighted Qatar's human rights violations against stadium construction workers.

"We know the atmosphere of the World Cup, what happened in the last few weeks, the last few months, about people who died in the construction of stadiums. We are not at all happy about that," Fernandes said, quoted by the BBC.

"This is not the time we want to play in the World Cup. I think for everyone, players and fans, this is not the best time. The kids are still going to school, people are working and the time is not the best to watch the game," he continued.

"We want football for everyone. Everyone has to be included and involved in the World Cup because the World Cup is a world event. It's for everyone, it doesn't matter who. These things I don't think should happen anywhere."

"The World Cup is more than just football, it's a party for fans and players. Something fun to watch and must be done in a better way," said Bruno Fernandes.