The dark side of the World Cup
This World Cup leaves us with a lesson about how the Empire, led by US President Donald Trump, violated the principles of fair play, trampled on the game of football, and humiliated humanity.
These are the facts:
One of the world's top referees, Omar Abdul Qadir Artan, was deported from the United States after being deemed an undesirable migrant. Because he is from Somalia, he was branded a "terrorist." Aymen Hussein, the star of Iraq's national team, was detained and interrogated for seven hours upon arriving at Chicago airport.
But it was with Iran's national team that the true face of the Empire was exposed most clearly. A goal was disallowed against Iran, and, above all, something happened that had never been seen before in the history of the World Cup. The team was forced to travel to another country, Mexico, just to sleep, recover, and then make another long journey back for its match. On top of that, members of Iran's coaching staff were not allowed to enter the US.
If we thought we had already seen everything, history delivered yet another first. For the first time ever, the president of a country openly and shamelessly used his power to pressure a referee by demanding that a red card shown to one of his country's players be rescinded.
In a tournament marked by a series of suspicious irregularities, Argentina, just as it had been in Qatar 2022, was once again a favored team. This time, Argentina was trailing Egypt 2-0, but then, as if the heavens had opened, the VAR (video assistant referee) intervened and called the referee to disallow one of Egypt's goals. Argentine players were allowed to throw elbows without being sent off, celebrate in the stands, and simulate fouls. Gianni Infantino sold off what little remained of football's soul, and as for the idea of uniting nations through the beautiful game, the one who made sure to destroy it was Trump.
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