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The then Fifa President Sepp Blatter when awarding the World Cup to Qatar 2010: everything bad that repels so many people about top-class football
Photo:
Christian Hartmann / REUTERS
You have to be grateful to Uefa.
After all, the European Football Association itself ensures that you don't forget what this is about.
The World Cup qualification of the European participants started on Wednesday evening, and Luxembourg also played its first game.
The opponent was called Qatar, and if you previously thought that it wasn't in Europe at all, then you don't know Uefa.
As the host of the 2022 World Cup, Qatar is automatically qualified for next year's tournament.
In order for the team not only to play test matches until then, but also to get into competition mode, the team is allowed to play a little in the European qualification.
Qatar against Portugal, Qatar against Luxembourg, Qatar against Ireland - every time the World Cup qualifying matches are scheduled, Uefa reminds us of what is being played here.
Germany will start qualifying for the World Cup in the evening.
It's against Iceland (8.45 p.m. live ticker SPIEGEL.de, TV: RTL).
National coach Joachim Löw heralds his farewell tour, Toni Kroos is injured, everything may be, everything is relevant, more or less.
But over all of this hangs the goal of these soccer games as a mighty shadow: to participate in a world championship in a country where human rights violations are a constant issue.
A recent Civey survey commissioned by SPIEGEL makes it clear that this flaw is clearly perceived by the population.
83 percent of those questioned think it is wrong that the World Cup is taking place in Qatar, 67 percent would support a boycott of the gymnast.
And when asked whether they want to watch the tournament on television, only 24 percent answered in the affirmative.
This isn't a normal World Cup qualification, and it's not (just) because there are no spectators in the stadium.
You have to knock those responsible and the public around the ears match day after match day.
It should be mentioned in every game.
And if it's annoying, then it should be annoying.
It must even be annoying.
The award of the World Cup to the emirate of Qatar (and, not to forget, that of 2018 to Russia), the double blow on this memorable December day in 2010 - it is and remains the great fall of man in world football.
Accompanied by the murmur as to whether and how much money flowed in the run-up to the decision, who in the world association Fifa was paid for his vote.
Qatar, this bustling regime in world sport that buys international teams that are thrown together so that they can start under the national flag, like in handball.
That brings major sporting events into the country for a lot of money: World Championships in Athletics, World Handball Championships, Soccer World Cup, most recently the Club World Cup.
That is closely interlinked with top European football clubs: Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich.
It's all a question of price.
There is no football tradition in this country, just like there was no athletics or handball tradition, but that is still bearable.
To allow sporting events to take place in the world where they have not yet gone is legitimate.
Even if it comes at the expense of the mood, the atmosphere.
But in that respect we have all learned to cut corners over the past year.
A mirror for the grievances
Above all, however, Qatar is a country whose leadership shows what is possible in world sport with money: everything.
It is a mirror for all the grievances that the associations have led the sport into.
The corruptibility of the functionaries, the hypocrisy with which the noble sporting values are proclaimed and at the same time sold.
Add to that the wax-soft statements from the DFB and Co. that Qatar and football are not quite all right and whether we should perhaps take the World Cup away from Qatar after all.
Which, of course, nobody seriously thought of, let alone did anything in that direction.
There is currently a broad boycott mood in Norway - but if the team does qualify, you can bet that they will take part.
With all due caution to pathos, Qatar stands for all that is bad, for everything that repels so many people in top football - and also for everything that we have long grown accustomed to over the years.
You don't have to be cynical at all to be able to say: Qatar as the host is the most honest choice.
If one were to be optimistic and assume that the pandemic will be over in the next year, then the two major events that celebrate the overcoming of Corona are the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing and the World Cup in Qatar.
Brilliant prospects.
By the way, Qatar won the game against Luxembourg on Wednesday 1-0.
The game took place in Debrecen, Hungary, because of the pandemic.
Qatar against Luxembourg in the World Cup qualification in Europe in an empty stadium in Debrecen in southeast Hungary.
It's the normal madness of world football.
Qatar will play Azerbaijan in Hungary on Saturday.
