Gays slam FIFA chief over 'no sex' in Qatar quip

[Bruno@MT]

Serious warning about the laws there would have been acceptable, it's the fact he chose to make a joke out of it, actually quite insulting for the hosts as well to have their laws made fun of.

Making fun of discriminatory laws is no different than making fun of the old segregation laws. You might as well say that we should not be making fun of laws that deem wearing trousers a whipping offense for women.

 

[Big Don]

Making fun of discriminatory laws is no different than making fun of the old segregation laws. You might as well say that we should not be making fun of laws that deem wearing trousers a whipping offense for women.

Another law which only exists in the Muslim world.

 

[Tez3]

Making fun of discriminatory laws is no different than making fun of the old segregation laws. You might as well say that we should not be making fun of laws that deem wearing trousers a whipping offense for women.

He wasn't making fun of the laws in that way though, his joke had a different nuance to it. His joke was a snide one aimed at denigrating gay people, the by product was that it also managed to insult the hosts in such a way that it didn't ridicule their laws which would have been good but merely insulted them which as they had paid good money in bribes to him and his team wasn't the greatest idea in the world.

 

[Bruno@MT]

I don't think you can ridicule the laws and not offend the hosts. After all, they are the people making those ridiculous laws. So what does that make them? Ridiculing the laws is a direct statement about the people making those laws. And in this case, well deserved.

And I still think the UK is having a case of 'sore loser'. Was there proof of bribing? Or was it a matter of financial incentives for the FIFA? Btw, I, for one, am happy as can be that we didn't win the selection. It costs millions and millions of euros, without anything to show for it except the 'prestige'.
That said, with Qatar being what it is, the FIFA should not have awarded them the games, based on the facts of their continuing human rights violations.

 

[Tez3]

I don't think you can ridicule the laws and not offend the hosts. After all, they are the people making those ridiculous laws. So what does that make them? Ridiculing the laws is a direct statement about the people making those laws. And in this case, well deserved.

And I still think the UK is having a case of 'sore loser'. Was there proof of bribing? Or was it a matter of financial incentives for the FIFA? Btw, I, for one, am happy as can be that we didn't win the selection. It costs millions and millions of euros, without anything to show for it except the 'prestige'.
That said, with Qatar being what it is, the FIFA should not have awarded them the games, based on the facts of their continuing human rights violations.

The UK wasn't looking to host the world cup, England was, there was little support for it outside there.
I'm quite happy for Quatar to be insulted, it deserves it for many reasons, I was just pointing out that Blatter managed to insult quite a few people by his ineptitude not defending him or saying that Quatar shouldn't be insulted. He's a numpty of the highest order, he really doesn't know what he's doing or saying.

The BBC came up with quite a lot of damning proof of bribes given and taken which is the reason it's believed England didn't get the world cup.

 

[Bruno@MT]

Sex between unmarried men and women is also illegal, those footballers and fans who aren't married to their partners will also be acting illegally if they bring their girlfriends.
Serious warning about the laws there would have been acceptable, it's the fact he chose to

That's a fact. Serious travel warnings and education will be needed.
There might be an upside though. I really hope that the UK soccer hooligans go party.

 

[Tez3]

That's a fact. Serious travel warnings and education will be needed.
There might be an upside though. I really hope that the UK soccer hooligans go party.

That's if any UK teams get through to the finals! They are going to have to improve drastically before then. The Polish and German hooligans are worse as they actually arrange to meet in fields to fight it out as well as go to the footie.

 

[Empty Hands]

The Polish and German hooligans are worse as they actually arrange to meet in fields to fight it out as well as go to the footie.

Leave it to the German hooligans to be well ordered and organized in their mayhem.

 

[Tez3]

Leave it to the German hooligans to be well ordered and organized in their mayhem.

It is organised, many think these are just fights that break out at matches but it's acutally organised fighting between 'armies' of men masquarading as football supporters. Tactics are worked out on how to ambush rivals etc, recces are done and they go 'tooled' up ie with weapons such as knives. Many here are known to the police and have banning orders on them making sure they stay away from matches both here and abroad. It's not such a big problem as it was in the seventies as a lot of effort has gone into stamping it out, the police will send officers abroad to help local police identify the troublemakers and help prevent the fights. There are those who aren't affiliated with these groups who get bladdered and fight though, that seems inevitable when certain types drink.

 

[CanuckMA]

. The Polish and German hooligans are worse as they actually arrange to meet in fields to fight it out as well as go to the footie.

There goes the Germans beating up on the Poles again.

 

[Bruno@MT]

1940 all over again...

In any case, I don't particularly care about them beating the snot out of each other. I would even go as far as giving them a quiet place to go at it. 2 groups of hooligans agreeing to meet someplace to play WW2 is a victimless crime.

 

[granfire]

2 groups of hooligans agreeing to meet someplace to play WW2 is a victimless crime.

only if they clean up after themselves...

 

[Tez3]

It's the sort of thing FIFA would be better concentrating stamping out on rather than chasing the next big 'pressie', that and stamping out racism which goes hand in hand with this type of violence as well as the homophobia that is rife in football.

 

[granfire]

you gotta make a clear statement, with all that male bonding, hugging and butt slapping, that you are not gay

(somehow I know I am missing the grand idea...of all the things we took from the antiquity, how come we are such a homophobic bunch?)

but then again, soccer has always been a kind of deferred warfare: our village against yours, us vs them, the dark skin dude will be the N***** when he plays for your rival, the hero when he's on your team....it's just...the population has changed a lot in 20 years.
When I was in school you were hard pressed to find somebody with a bit more skin pigment, and now schools look like the united nations, and that in your average small city in the German province. Eventually you have to get over it.



%think%

 

[LuckyKBoxer]

Address some of the concerns I raised, for one. Let everyone attending know what the actual boundaries are beyond "don't ****." As the chief of FIFA, I have no doubt he was involved in the negotiations for the World Cup with Qatar, and thus should have the ability to find that out at least, although obviously not to change the law. Or at the least he should acknowledge the concerns and state the limits of his knowledge.

This is serious stuff. Middle Eastern states aren't exactly nice when it comes to the gays. Would simply traveling as a couple be enough to arrest? Would acknowledging your sexuality be enough for arrest? Would looking stereotypically gay be enough to arrest? These concerns go far beyond sex.



Really?



What they are criticizing him for is his seeming flipness and dismissiveness of gay concerns. Please don't keep claiming that everyone is mad at the guy because he can't change the laws of Qatar.

Although I am sure there is still anger over Qatar being chosen in the first place given their regressive laws. And Blatter has a history of putting his foot in his mouth, such as telling women players that the path to popularity for their sport was to wear tighter shorts. I'm sure that feeds into it as well.

oh seriously come on... its not his responsibility to go look at what gays have to avoid doing to not get arrested in a foreign country.
thats ridiculous.
the question was strictly political and rhetorical.. it was meant to bring attention to the fact that Qatar outlaws homosexuality, it was not a question for any other reason but to cause outrage, and turmoil over the fact that the event was awarded to Qatar, and that Homosexuality is a crime there.

 

[Tez3]

It's not his job to make peurile jokes in public either, he's in the position of a diplomat and should have kept his mouth firmly shut if he can't say anything without being insulting. This is the man who compared top footballers who are on hundreds of thousands of pounds plus salaries to 'slaves'. He also complained when the married England captain was stripped of his captaincy after the footballer's affair with a best mate's girlfriend (now ex gf) became public knowledge, he'd gone to court to try to have newspapers gagged about his affair. Blatter thought the English were being prudish in our view of our youth's role model.
When asked what FIFA should do to help promote womens soccer he replied he'd bring in tighter shorts. And this man is still in his position?

 

[CoryKS]

It's not his job to provide tips for 'How to Travel to Bass-ackward Countries While Gay' either. I would have made a smartass comment too because why the **** are you asking me this? Got a soccer question?

 

[Tez3]

It's not his place to make smart **** comments. he can refuse to answer questions and to ask for questions to be on topic without being a smutty child.

 

[LuckyKBoxer]

It's not his job to make peurile jokes in public either, he's in the position of a diplomat and should have kept his mouth firmly shut if he can't say anything without being insulting. This is the man who compared top footballers who are on hundreds of thousands of pounds plus salaries to 'slaves'. He also complained when the married England captain was stripped of his captaincy after the footballer's affair with a best mate's girlfriend (now ex gf) became public knowledge, he'd gone to court to try to have newspapers gagged about his affair. Blatter thought the English were being prudish in our view of our youth's role model.
When asked what FIFA should do to help promote womens soccer he replied he'd bring in tighter shorts. And this man is still in his position?

This conversation had nothing to do with the rest of his nonsense..
I could care less about all of that. sounds like the guy is a jerk.. fine..
the fact remains this was a dumb question, and was not what was even meant by asking the question... peopel just cant come straight forward and ask what they really wanted to ask..
"Why did you award the game to a country that has criminilized and persecuted homosexuals?"

that was what they should have asked, and that would have been valid.
also I hate to say it but I would probably watch a few more games if they played in tighter shorts.... I still remember Brandy Chastain ripping her shirt off in that game...
but it is what it is.. I dont even really watch mens Futball unless its some huge game.
and I even played myself for about a decade.
/shrug

 

[Tez3]

This conversation had nothing to do with the rest of his nonsense..
I could care less about all of that. sounds like the guy is a jerk.. fine..
the fact remains this was a dumb question, and was not what was even meant by asking the question... peopel just cant come straight forward and ask what they really wanted to ask..
"Why did you award the game to a country that has criminilized and persecuted homosexuals?"

that was what they should have asked, and that would have been valid.
also I hate to say it but I would probably watch a few more games if they played in tighter shorts.... I still remember Brandy Chastain ripping her shirt off in that game...
but it is what it is.. I dont even really watch mens Futball unless its some huge game.
and I even played myself for about a decade.
/shrug

So it was a dumb question, did that mean he had to give a stupid and insulting jokey answer? Would you sink the level of someone asking stupid questions especially if in such a position as he has? He should be used to dealing with all sorts of questions by now and he should have answered it in a professional manner, it's what he's paid to do.

You may decide to watch women's football because they wear tighter shorts but again in his position representing the sport of football and being paid very handsomely to do so he should have again answered professionally. No one is paying you to represent many thousands of footballers, fans, clubs, countries etc so you can say what you like but he can't. It's not much to ask that he behaves professionally.