Suits: FIFA president defending World Cup in Qatar is ‘virtue signaling’
Nov 21, 2022, 3:01 PM | Updated: Dec 21, 2022, 2:27 pm
DOHA, QATAR - NOVEMBER 19: FIFA President, Gianni Infantino Speaks Ahead of Opening Match of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at a press conference on November 19, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)
The selection of Qatar to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup has been marked by controversy since it was announced, with issues of migrant workers facing human rights abuses, allegations of corruption within FIFA, and now pushback from the LGBT+ community against Qatar’s strict laws against homosexuality.
During Monday’s Bryan Suits Show on AM 770 KTTH, Suits criticized FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s recent speech regarding the “hypocrisy” and “racism” of criticizing Qatar for these issues.
Culture clash? Conservative Qatar preps for World Cup party
In a Saturday news conference in Doha, Infantino took on critics of Qatar and FIFA by defending the treatment of migrant workers, saying LGBTQ+ people are welcome and insisting he is still in control of the tournament despite a last-minute stadium ban on alcohol.
“He feels the victimhood. Ironic that he’s actually defending Qatar, you see because finally he feels like a victim. And now he knows what it’s like to be gay. Really? Well, you’re about to be arrested because you’re in Qatar. He knows what it’s like to be a migrant worker,” Suits said. “And if you’re thinking, ‘wow, the virtue signaling is strong in this one.’ If you’re thinking ‘can this guy lay it on any thicker?’ Well, you have something to answer for.”
Suits went on to point out the scandals that FIFA has undergone, including the 2015 corruption case in which the FBI indicted 14 people associated with the governing body of soccer to wire fraud, racketeering, and money laundering.
“This is from the head of corruption and one of the most corrupt sports organizations on the face of the earth. The Qataris absolutely overshadow everybody because they had to build hotels and venues. The whole thing [cost] $220 billion, and much of that was bribes. A lot of that literally was cash bribes,” Suits continued.
Listen to Bryan Suits breakdown the rest of the corruption, scandal, and labor abuses at the FIFA 2022 World Cup:
