It’s time to force FIFA’s hand

Mr. Platini, There is one thing for sure. You openly admitted that you promised the Qatar Emirate to change to Winter World Cup before the voting process. Why? When Qatar kept saying before the voting (and has been saying after the voting) that they can overcome the heat (weather) issue, you made such a promise (agreement). Why? Why you promised when you knew that it was a high risking task to hold the tournament in Qatar in summer? There is no reasonable explanation. Unless, something had to be covered. Why that something had to be covered? I just don't understand why a guy as stupid can be the head of UEFA. Should the journalist ask you why you vote the Qatar, all you need to say is:"...I believe Qatar can overcome the heat problem like what they say in the tender document..." However, you chose to disclose a secret deal: promising to change to winter later. It is alright that you are still the head of UEFA. However, you want to reach the top, the FIFA top. That is why all those still have a bit of conscience are trying to bring you down. As a head of UEFA you make a mess. So, if you will be the head of FIFA, the sky falls.

And this article suggest that FIFA's internal investigation was hamstrung from the start http://www.theage.com.au/fifa-world-cup-2014/world-cup-news-2014/michael-j-garcia-fifas-chief-investigator-has-tough-task-navigating-murky-waters-of-world-cup-bids-20140603-zrvpg.html

This is an interesting article about the Salt Lake City scandal. ghttp://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/JOH/JOHv8n2/johv8n2f.pdf In the case of Salt Lake City, the US Olympic Committe started an investigation into allegations of bribery and the FBI began it's own investigations to see if any laws were broken. Qatar lose the right to host 2022? - a fanciful thought I think.

Brazil have a bunch of perfectly adequate rectangular grounds that would be excellent for a World Cup. Heck, we could have played the last one there, without a penny spent on new grounds. But someone or other *cough FIFA cough* demand a bunch of brand new grounds to hold a tournament.

I agree, it has become rather circular, so I'll drop it, too, with a closing comment: I don't see any need to link our own morals with those of our government, but you're welcome to do so if you wish. If: #1 - the investigation into bribery and corruption inside FIFA comes to nothing, and #2 - Blatter succeeds in moving everything around to fit his proposed "winter" world cup in Qatar, then I would like to think that FIFA can pursuade Qatar to confront their human rights issues with their "guest worker" population. That would be a real good legacy for the world cup to leave. Also, then world can come together to celebrate and enjoy the festival of football, like it should be able to. I sincerely hope they do that, because if they don't - if the world cup is built upon the graves of an exploited slave workforce for the profit of a minority of Qataris who are already obscenely rich with petrodollars - then instead it'll be a festival of money and power winning over humanity and decency: a shrine to shamelessness.

@CF We're going round in circles. My final comment: As long as the AUS Govt continues to engage in trade with Qatar, I see nothing wrong with FIFA organising a WC in Qatar. And, if the WC2022 is in Qatar, I'm keen to visit the country & the surrounding nations in the Middle East.

I'm with CF here. Fuss is muddying the waters trying to make 1 + 1 = 3.

@Fuss Here is your straw-man argument again. The only way you can argue against my stated position is if you distort my argument into something it isn't, and never has been. It's NOTHING TO DO WITH the Australian Government and Australian trade. FIFA's contract for WC 2022 with Qatar necessitates a massive development of Qatar's infrastructure. For a nation of only 280,000 citizens, Qatar's strategy is to invite "guest workers" from other nations. To build WC infrastructure, Qatar will need many guest workers to work on WC 2022 projects. FIFA is obligated to ensure that these workers are treated humanely. The human rights standards to which Qatar (and any other nation) are subject are stated in the UN's declaration of human rights: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ The allegations in Qatar, from what I can see, specifically relate to: - Artlcle 4 - Slavery - Article 5 - Inhuman treatment - being forced to work in the heat without food and water - Article 13 - Freedom of movement - ie not being forced to get an "exit visa" to leave Qatar - Article 23 - Employment - just and favourable working conditions, and appropriate pay It's been reported that 900 workers have already died while building WC 2022 infrastructure in Qatar. FIFA has a responsibility to ensure the workers who build FIFA's events don't suffer and die.

@CF You have based your argument on alleged violation of workers' rights in Qatar. If workers are being abused in Qatar then, if you are so concerned about workers' human rights, you should be concerned about every worker in Qatar - not just workers constructing FIFA WC infrastructure. Suddenly in 2014, you are demanding FIFA uphold higher standards of corporate behaviour than we see from AUS farmers & the AUS Govt.

@Fuss The only scrutiny you've offered against my argument is a straw-man fallacy that I have refuted. There's no "bias" in my suggestions. I'm simply staying on-topic, which is WC 2022. (In an earlier post I made it quite clear that I would refuse to be led off-topic, saying "I won’t be drawn into talking about those... other countries or other examples of human rights abuses, they’re irrelevant.") It's really a quite simple proposition: - FIFA is not concerned with non-football issues (like trade) - FIFA is only concerned with football issues. The FIFA WC 2022 is of course, a football issue. Qatar's workers - the ones building FIFA WC infrastructure (as well as professional football players who are subject to the same draconian employment legislation in Qatar) - are a football issue. Therefore FIFA has a responsibility to ensure the human rights of these workers is respected. Therefore, FIFA's contract with Qatar for the FIFA WC in 2022 *is* the only relevant situation for FIFA to be concerned about reported human rights abuses in Qatar.

As pure football fans, yes this is hurting more than imaginable. As someone puts it "Where there is a rose, there is also a thorn". So, I think we will have to live with it. That doesn't mean we should accept this practice, but we should not expect any abrupt revolutionary actions. There is so much involved with football now, there are more people now turning to football due to many instead of passion. So sincerely, I do not expect any changes.

Sheek it is a good question ... the same about the various player unions ... national associations ... media companies ... national governments etc ...

I apologise if someone else has mentioned this, but what obligation does each country have in making themselves available to qualify for the world cup? Normally, this is a question that usually wouldn't even be raised. But if many countries protest at Qatar's 2022 hosting rights by quietly making themselves unavailable to compete in their continental qualifiers, can FIFA force them to do so?

"FIFA won’t be blind and deaf to reality. " The reality is that nobody can touch FIFA. I am not saying its right, but that's just how it is, that is the reality. When the world cup rolls around in 2022 in Qatar unfortunately nobody is going to bat an eyelid that so many deaths occurred in the construction of the stadiums. They will sit glue eyed to the television wondering where the next goal is coming from. This is nothing new from FIFA, I have seen this time and time again. Why do you think this time things will change? Maybe I am getting cynical in my old age, but I will be amazed if Sepp Blatter does a back flip on this decision. You know there are plenty of people in the background trying to bring him down but it will be to no avail. You need to be a wily old bastard to get to the FIFA presidency and I cant see him being ousted any time soon.

@CF I'm sorry, your argument does not stand up to any scrutiny. It's based on bias, where you choose FIFA's contract for WC2022 as the only situation where a contract with the Qatari Government should be broken for alleged human rights violations in that country.

@Fuss I thought perhaps to explain the flaw in your question a bit better, rather than just disagreeing with it... There is a fallacy inherent in this suggestion: "If FIFA must not trade with Qatar, you must also tell Aussie farmers to immediately cease all trade with Qatar. Good luck with that." This is a straw-man argument, with two misplaced assertions, which I'll refute: 1 - I'm not suggesting that "FIFA must not trade with Qatar", and never have done. (I am willing to personally boycott the Qatar WC, and to encourage the FFA to do so also, but that's just me). So while FIFA is entitled to trade with Qatar or any other country, FIFA should not engage in corruption, and they shouldn't allow Qatar to abuse human rights while they make provisions for a FIFA event. 2 - FIFA's interactions with Qatar have no bearing on Australian trade with Qatar. Trade would be relevant if, for example, we were discussing the welfare of Australian live animals exported to Qatar, but trade isn't relavant in this football case. I respect that you love football. Remember though, that you DO have a choice, even here. Don't 'buy' FIFA/Qatar's world cup 'product' if you suspect that either FIFA or Qatar (with FIFA's condining of it) has done the wrong thing. As fans, we have the right to say "no", and "not in my name". That's me done for the night, I'm off.

I never said they'd keep to it but they did say it and sell themselves on it and make a shed load of money perhaps relating to it, therefore perhaps now is the time for this organisation that sells itself on equality and this perfect la di da philosophy to actually try to live by it a little. Phillip Morris would be pilloried if they said we are an equal opportunity employee and then were found out to only employ white, straight people. FIFA should be pilloried for this BS too for allowing this abuse to continue. I'm jaded too but it is time someone stood up and said "hang on a minute, you say one thing and do another and we are sick of it", those that stand idly by are as bad as the perps (or something like that).

Doesn't Qatar only have one city? Aren't you supposed to have about 8? Or didn't FIFA read the bid document too closely. I have this image of a street called Stadium Street where there are 12 identical stadiums side by side. It's the great dilemma: if they admit Qatar paid bribes it means they accepted them.

@Derby County FC Maybe, I'm too old & too cynical... and have worked with too many big corporations. But, I don't for 1 second believe any thing a company says in its Mission Statement. Philip Morris probably has warm, fuzzy words in its Mission Statement, as would ExxonMobil, Lockheed Martin, etc. etc. Yet, their products kill people directly, or indirectly. I don't expect FIFA to provide moral guidance to the world. They simply administer the world's biggest sport.

Fuss I genuinely can't believe that you've never realised that an organisation will have this moral and ethical BS code, they're just like the IOC "bringing harmony and peace to the world", whatever, YUK.