The presence of Saudi Prince Bin Salman in the coffin represents a diplomatic triumph of the first order for the emirate
As the 2018 World Cup ended in Russia, the Arab newspaper ‘Al Hayat’, owned by a member of the Saudi royal family, hailed the champion, France, and headlined that the countdown to the next World Cup had already begun. event. , which would take place in the year 2026 in Canada, the United States and Mexico. But…, and Qatar? Wasn’t he going to celebrate his World Cup in 2022? No. Qatar no longer existed.
Seen from the west, the monarchies of the Persian Gulf are so similar they could be said to be clones, but their royal families, kissing so solemnly at official gatherings, hide ancient feuds, a legacy of camels and caravans , which are now emerging, in the warmth of its inexhaustible riches. Qatar is located on a small peninsula, Bahrain is a small archipelago and the United Arab Emirates occupy a narrow coastal strip. They’re all on Saudi Arabia, like those little birds that live on the backs of hippos.
These three fantastic mini-treasure states have seen in sport the best way to gain international clout without worrying too much about human rights, but in this maddening race for sporting prestige no one has gotten further than Qatar. Their petrodollars have bought a World Cup football, and those are big words indeed. In the West, the Qataris’ triumph aroused surprise and outrage, but their neighbors in the Gulf took it no better. Of course, the Saudis were not concerned about gay rights or the neglect of women, but about the excruciating slap in the face that they had just received in terms of reputation from Qatar.
The insult couldn’t stop there. In 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates issued a total embargo against Qatar. The borders were sealed. The terrified locals began stocking up on food supplies and the World Cup, with stadiums still under construction and other infrastructure half completed, seemed under threat. Saudi Arabia planned to suffocate its tiny neighbor, which it accused of supporting terrorism. To break the blockade, he demanded, among other things, that he dismantle the television channel Al Jazeera and stop supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian fundamentalist organization. However, as revealed by Ignacio Álvarez Ossorio and Ignacio Gutiérrez de Terán in their book ‘Qatar, the Pearl of the Gulf’, both Arabia and the Emirates alluded to the possibility of lifting the blockade “if Doha stopped organizing the World Cup or, at least agreed to share headquarters with them.
disturbing smell
In this burning desert, pregnant with hydrocarbons, everything mixes and everything gives off a disturbing smell. The blockade lasted three and a half years, but it didn’t work because Doha found the outstretched hand of Turkey and Iran, enraged enemies of Saudi Arabia. Finally, in January 2021, thanks to the mediation of the United States and Kuwait, Qatar was freed from the blockade and the borders reopened. For this reason, and despite the defeat of his team, the Emirate celebrated yesterday a victory over Prince Bin Salmán, who held on in the box of the Al Bayt stadium with the face the goalkeepers make when they have the ball between their legs let it slide. To round off this confusing strand, Al Qaeda came clean yesterday with a statement asking Muslims “not to attend or follow” the World Cup in Qatar. The terror group, which hails from Yemen, accuses the Qatari emirs of allowing the Arabian Peninsula “of immoral, gay people, sowers of corruption and atheism”. FIFA may count banknotes all day long, but it has fallen into a good hornet’s nest.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
