Looking at Ourselves
This year’s World Cup in Qatar will definitely be remembered… but possibly not for what is happening on the pitch.
There is little doubt it will be remembered for protests against human rights and social abuses, but hopefully, it will also be remembered for the extremely decent conduct of the Japanese.
I’m writing this piece during the first round of group games and there have been some huge upsets so far, including Saudi Arabia’s 2 – 1 victory over tournament favourites, Argentina, and Japan’s 2 – 1 victory over Germany. But still, many of the headlines have come from off the pitch, and most of them have been aimed at what many see as bad behaviour.
The tournament has been used as a platform for protests against the Qatari and Iranian governments. As I’ve mentioned in previous columns, I think that is a good thing because watching the game is normally just a distraction from our day-to-day problems. But this year, the game’s international appeal is being used to focus the world’s attention on other people’s issues.
Important things like women’s rights, safe working conditions and freedom of expression.
The Iranian team did not sing the national anthem before their first match as a sign of displeasure with their government, but most protests have been initiated by western human rights groups.
That fact has led to accusations of hypocrisy by Federation of International Football Associations President, Gianni Infantino, who says westerners should look at their own countries first before giving advice to the Arab world.
I agree with that. All of us should look at ourselves first. But, hopefully, what’s happened at the World Cup will encourage the authorities accused of discriminating against women, gays and immigrant workers to look at themselves, and the criticism of FIFA and the human rights groups will help those organisations look at themselves as well.
So, as you can see, it’s all been a bit messy off the pitch. But the sloppy habits of some fans during the matches has given Japanese supporters a chance to make a positive statement to the rest of the world by simply being themselves.
After their win over Germany, they could have been excused for rushing into the streets to celebrate, but that’s not what they did. If you’ve ever been to a match, you probably know the stands are usually covered with cups, food wrappers and other junk at the end of a game and all that trash is normally left behind for someone else to clean up.
But the Japanese team had barely left the pitch when their fans put their party on hold so they could tidy up after themselves and others at Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar. The Japanese players, meanwhile, left their locker room spotlessly clean when they departed. And this was not a one off. The Japanese did the same at the World Cup in Russia four years ago.
So, my first message today is that we should look at ourselves first before we criticise others. And my second is that we would do well to look to the Japanese if we notice our own behaviour needs to improve.