The World Cup always brings with it very delicate geo-political issues, as demonstrated by some interviews made by an Israeli journalist, Moav Verdi, with some Iranian fans.
The reactions were mixed, among those who didn't really want to stop, also for fear of repercussions upon returning home, and those who instead launched a message of peace through the microphones of Israeli public television: "We are all friends".
And on TV, worldwide, the "photo of the day" of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, that of the "gagged" Germany players, with their hands covering their mouths, has never been seen.
For example, in Italy, on Rai 2,
during the commentary of the match against Japan, it was only around the middle of the first half that reference was made to the gesture chosen by the German players to protest against Fifa before the kick-off.
On the other hand, the viewers of the German TV Ard, which has "personalized" images, have seen it live, at least partially.
In fact, the international direction of Fifa did not broadcast - and therefore Rai was unable to broadcast - the images of the German team photo.
Censorship?
It is all too easy to assume that this is the case.
Not surprisingly, after the outburst of a German journalist, Thomas Wagner of Magenta TV, who complained about the reduced time allowed by Fifa for the pre-match interview with coach Flick, the newspaper "Bild"
began to wonder if the World Football Federation plans to block some interviews as well.
But if Fifa has tried - evidently without success - to censor an image that is in some ways already historic, it was the sites that made it "bounce" in a few minutes all over the world.
After all, in 2022 it is practically impossible to think of "blocking" the spread of symbolic gestures such as that of the Germans, let alone in a globalized event such as the final phase of the World Cup of the most beautiful sport in the world.
Four weeks of football which, fortunately, also manage to bring fans from all over the world together, also allowing them to discover their various habits.
And so, around the net,
the video of a home fan amazed by what some Japanese fans were doing at the end of the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador has gone viral: taking away all the rubbish and leaving the stands clean, as per Japanese custom, in fact.
Much more "common" are the many videos which, starting from Saudi Arabia, are becoming "viral" all over the world, with Saudi fans literally going crazy for the sensational comeback victory, 2-1, against Argentina by Leo Messi.
