Football fans attending the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia will not be allowed to buy alcohol during their time there. Hands up anyone who is surprised. The sale of alcohol is outlawed in the desert kingdom, and penalties for consumption include flogging, jail or deportation.
Prince Khalid bin Bandar Sultan Al Saud doesn’t come across as someone who spends much time in pubs
The Saudis are also notoriously indifferent to the notion of human rights, so they’re hardly likely to respect the desire – some might describe it as a basic right – of some football fans to have a few bevvies before, during and after a match.
The Saudi ambassador to the UK confirmed the ban on beer and other alcoholic drinks, adding for good measure that “plenty of fun can be had without alcohol”. It is probably safe to say that the Saudi idea of fun is somewhat different to that of the average football supporter. Yet the ambassador, Prince Khalid bin Bandar Sultan Al Saud, couldn’t have been clearer:
“At the moment we don’t allow alcohol, but you know, plenty of fun can be had without alcohol. It’s not 100 per cent necessary. And you know, if you want to drink when you leave, after you leave, you’re welcome to.”
How nice of the good man to give fans his personal permission to drink once they leave his country.
The ban, according to the ambassador, is really about having respect for different cultures:
“Everyone has their own culture and we’re happy to accommodate people within the boundaries of our culture, but we don’t want to change our culture for someone else. And I mean, really, you can’t live without a drink?”
He doesn’t come across as someone who spends much time in pubs. Who dares argue with the Saudis if they choose to ban drinking during the tournament? Especially when anyone caught drinking risks a good flogging for their troubles.
Even so, some supporters will no doubt be outraged. This is understandable enough but misses the bigger and more enduring scandal of how, and why, the Saudis were given the rights to host the 2034 tournament in the first place. It is Fifa, the international game’s governing body, that should be the target of fans’ anger. Its decision in December last year to give the Saudis hosting rights to the World Cup must rank as one of the most controversial in the organisation’s inglorious history.
Fifa expedited the bidding process, leaving the Saudis as the sole bidder for the tournament. It was confirmed in a bizarre virtual congress featuring Fifa’s 211 members, with the key decisions taken by acclamation rather than a vote. The English Football Association, to its eternal shame, joined in this act of acclamation.
The president of Fifa, Gianni Infantino, claimed that the process of deciding hosts without a vote had “shown unity” in the football community. Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he?
There was also plenty of nonsense trotted out about how this was a once in a lifetime chance to foster positive change in the country, especially on human rights and basic freedoms. The evidence suggests the opposite. Russia hosted the competition in 2018. Four years later, it invaded Ukraine. Leopards don’t change their spots because of a football tournament.
It was the same story ahead of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Qatar promised all kinds of reforms on rights for women, gays and religious minorities. Very little meaningful or lasting change has followed that tournament.
The Saudis got the World Cup simply because they have the deepest pockets. The kingdom’s plan to use the prestige of elite sport to change its image (sportswashing as it has come to be known) is proceeding apace. The Saudis don’t want outsiders to associate the country with ghastly realities such as the absence of basic human rights and political freedoms. The regime would much rather prefer that people focus on all the wonderful sports events the country hosts, from boxing to golf and Formula 1 racing. To this list can now be added the World Cup, the biggest sporting prize of all. Thanks to Fifa.
It stinks but it would appear that no one in the world of sport cares to do much about it. Banning football fans from having a drink at the tournament is (pardon the pun) small beer in the grand scheme of things. Apologies to fans everywhere, but there’s a new football chant on the horizon which will be heard louder and louder in the coming years:
“We’ll do what we want,
We’ll do what we want,
We’re the Saudis,
We’ll do what we want.”
Better get used to it.
Comments