Temperatures are expected to be high at the World Cup in Qatar but you will be forking out big bikkies if you want to quench your thirst with a beer.
If you are lucky enough to have a ticket to a match, you can expect to be paying 50 Qatari riyals (around $20 in Australian currency) for a half-litre.
And it gets worse for beer connoisseurs – the only available option will be the World Cup’s major sponsor, Budweiser, the American amber liquid consistently ranked as one of the worst on the global brewing scene.
Qatar is not a dry country as far as alcohol but drinking it in public places is illegal so it will only be allowed within the fan zone ticketed perimeter surrounding each stadium, according to a Reuters report.
The beer prices are more than double the amount charged at the Club World Cup held in Qatar three years ago.
(Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Melbourne City winger Marco Tilio has travelled to Qatar as a standby player for the World Cup as the Socceroos sweat on the fitness of star attacker Martin Boyle.
Boyle is yet to train with his Socceroos teammates as he works to overcome a knee injury suffered while playing for his Scottish club Hibernian last month.
The 29-year-old, who missed the 2019 Asian Cup through injury, is a key part of Australia’s attack. He had previously been told he would likely be able to play if he pushed through the pain barrier but the summoning of Tilio indicates there is still significant doubt Boyle will be able to take part in the tournament.
FIFA regulations stipulate World Cup teams are allowed to replace an injured or ill player up until 24 hours before their opening match. Australia kick off their campaign against holders France next Tuesday (6am Wednesday AEDT).
(Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
“He’d be a massive loss, but it’s just precautionary because we’ve got the first game in a week,” midfielder Cameron Devlin told reporters in Doha.
“But if he wasn’t to play he’d be a massive loss.”
Tilio, 21, has five caps but was among the notable omissions from Graham Arnold’s 26-man squad. The prodigiously talented winger started the A-League Men season on City’s bench but managed to win back his spot ahead of Andrew Nabbout and has two goals and two assists to his name this season.
Mat Ryan, Ajdin Hrustic, Harry Souttar and Kye Rowles have also arrived in Qatar with some doubts over their recovery from injury.
A blow for defending champions France on the eve of the World Cup in Qatar with forward Christopher Nkunku ruled out of the tournament after suffering an injury in training.
The 1998 and 2018 winners begin their World Cup Group D campaign against the Socceroos at Al Janoub Stadium on Tuesday November 22 (Wednesday 6am AEDT), before tackling Denmark and Tunisia.
The RB Leipzig forward, who has been in outstanding form for his club in Germany, left Tuesday’s training session in Clairefontaine early with a left knee injury. A video circulating on social media showed Nkunku clash with teammate Eduardo Camavinga, and head coach Didier Deschamps among those who went to his aid.
“The X-ray examinations carried out in the evening unfortunately revealed that it was a sprain,” the French federation (FFF) said in a statement.
They added that Nkunku’s replacement would be announced once the medical file sent to FIFA has been validated.
Wissam Ben Yedder, Moussa Diaby, Morgan Terrier or Randal Kolo Muani are in line for a late call-up.
Earlier this week, Les Bleus ruled Paris Saint-Germain defender Presnel Kimpembe out because of a hamstring injury.
Nkunku has scored 17 goals and provided two assists in 23 games for Leipzig this season.
Among players from Europe’s top five leagues – the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A – only France teammate Kylian Mbappe has managed more combined goals and assists since the beginning of 2022 than Nkunku.
Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane, working their way back from injuries, played a limited part in Tuesday’s final training session in France before they fly out to Doha on Wednesday.
British comedian Joe Lycett has informed David Beckham he will give £10,000 to LGBTQ+ charities if he backs out of a reported £10 million deal to be a Qatar ambassador.
In an Instagram video posted to his 1.2 million followers, Lycett warned he would shred the money if Beckham fulfilled his role in the World Cup host nation which has been lambasted for its laws against homosexuality.
Describing Beckham as “a gay icon”, Lycett praised the English legend for his progressive attitude in the past.
“You’re the first premiership footballer to do shoots with gay magazines like Attitude, to speak openly about your gay fans and you married a Spice Girl, which is the gayest thing a human being can do,” he said.
“But now it’s 2022. And you signed a reported £10m deal with Qatar to be their ambassador during the FIFA World Cup.
“Qatar was voted as one of the worst places in the world to be gay. Homosexuality is illegal, punishable by imprisonment and if you’re Muslim, possibly even death.”
He said the £10,000 would be donated to charities “that support queer people in football” but if Beckham follows through with his ambassadorial role, Lycett will throw it into a shredder and “stream it live on a website I’ve registered called benderslikebeckham.com” before the Cup opening ceremony.
“Not just the money, but also your status as a gay icon will be shredded. You’ll be forcing me to commit a crime. Although, even then, I reckon I get off more lightly than I would if I got caught whacking off a lad in Doha. The choice is yours. I look forward to hearing from you.”
David Beckham in Qatar in 2021. (Photo by David Ramos – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
The American men’s team has unveiled a rainbow-coloured crest at its Qatar training base as its way of protesting the World Cup host nation’s anti-homosexuality laws.
Players won’t wear the rainbow emblem on their uniform during games but it has been added to the team’s training base, locker room and other areas where they have control of the facilities in the Middle Eastern nation.
FIFA officials have claimed that everyone is welcome regardless of their sexual orientation or background but they have warned against public displays of affection.
The rainbow logo, replacing the traditional red, white and blue colours, is part of the “Be The Change” initiative that aims to highlight social issues.
“When we are on the world stage and when we are in a venue like Qatar, it is important to bring awareness to these issues and that is what ‘Be the Change’ is about,” US men’s coach Gregg Berhalter said at a press conference.
“We recognise that Qatar has made strides and there has been a ton of progress but there’s some work still to do.”
The Socceroos received worldwide interest last month when they released a video protest about Qatar’s human rights record while Denmark’s team has released an all black version of their playing strip to recognise the many migrant workers who died during construction work prior to the World Cup.
Human rights group Amnesty International has called on FIFA president Gianni Infantino to break his silence on possible compensation for migrant workers in Qatar.
The World Cup begins in Qatar on Monday morning (AEDT) amid widespread criticism of the country’s human rights record, particularly regarding the workers who built the stadiums.
Estimates of those who have died in the process vary from the official tally of 37, of which three were “work-related”, to 6500 from 2011-2021 according to the UK Guardian newspaper, though that all includes migrant workers said to have died in Qatar, including on other projects.
Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Economic and Social Justice, said: “Unless he breaks his silence on the issue of compensation, Gianni Infantino looks set to refuse a golden opportunity to leave a World Cup legacy that respects and honours the workers who made it possible.
“He has been presented with reams of evidence about the human consequences of the last 12 years and a concrete proposal to help victims and their families rebuild their lives, so the message from Zurich and Doha cannot simply be to focus on football.
“FIFA cannot use the spectacle of the World Cup to dodge its responsibilities. It has a clear duty towards the hundreds of thousands of workers who suffered while building the stadiums and infrastructure needed for the tournament.
“A public commitment to a compensation fund – while not undoing the past – would represent a major step forward.”
FIFA launched its “Football Unites the World” campaign with a video featuring global superstars such as Neymar, Karim Benzema and Edouard Mendy.
“Although football is and should be our main focus, the FIFA World Cup is also about values and causes that extend far beyond the pitch and we are delighted that football stars past and present have joined us to promote and highlight these topics, which also unite the whole world,” Infantino said.
Iran’s manager, Carlos Queiroz, reacted angrily to a reporter questioning whether his team should be allowed to participate in the World Cup.
There have been calls for them to lose their place in the tournament because of their repressive laws and treatment of women, as well as claims that they have supplied drones to Russia which in recent weeks have been used to bomb infrastructure and other civilian targets causing deaths.
Iranian authorities have denied any involvement in the conflict but Western nations have imposed sanctions on Tehran over Moscow’s use of the drones.
Ukraine was invaded by Russia in February. FIFA and UEFA subsequently banned Russia from playing international football.
Iran are in a group with USA, England and Wales.
In a bizarre exchange with a British reporter, Queiroz wanted money from the journalist after being asked “Are you OK representing a country like Iran at this World Cup that represses the rights of women?”
The Portuguese 69-year-old responded with: “How much you pay me to answer that question? You are a private company, how much you pay me? Talk with your boss and at the end of the World Cup, I can give you the answer if you make me a good offer. Thank you.”
He then got out of his chair to end the press conference.
After the reporter suggested he says it’s an honour to coach Iran, he added: “No, no. I’m saying, to answer to that question, don’t put in my mouth words that I did not say. I’m asking to your company, how much you pay me to answer to that question?
“OK, thank you. I think you should start to think about what happened with the immigrants in England also. Go think about that.”
Queiroz did say that he believes his players had the right to protest about the death of Mahsa Amini, who died while in Iranian custody after she was detained for incorrectly wearing her hijab.
“Iran follows the spirit of the game and the laws of FIFA. That’s how you express yourself in football. Everybody has the right to express themselves,” he said.
“You guys bend your knees in the games. Some people agree, some people don’t agree with that, and Iran is exactly the same.
“It is out of the question to think that the national team is suffering any sort of issues like that, the players only have one thing in their mind which is to fight for their dream to be in the second round.”
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