Tag: Qatar

Qatar scandal: What just happened at the European Parliament?

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Watchdogs say it could be the “most serious,” “most shocking,” “most egregious” corruption scandal to hit Brussels in years.

A series of at least 16 raids by the Belgian federal police Friday netted five people they said had committed “alleged offenses of criminal organization, corruption and money laundering.” The morning searches yielded €600,000 in cash, plus phones and computers.

Initially, the culprits weren’t major names by Brussels standards: A former member of the European Parliament, a few parliamentary assistants, and a trade union boss, all allegedly on the take for World Cup host Qatar. But to what end, really? Some questioned whether — if the charges were true — Doha had really made a smart investment.

By the evening, however, it was clear this wasn’t just a story of some has-beens and wannabes lining their pockets. Eva Kaili, a vice president of the European Parliament and vocal defender of Doha, landed in police custody, according to the Belgian federal police. The case also centers around an NGO that, until recently, counted some of the biggest luminaries in left-wing politics among its board members.

“The State of Qatar categorically rejects any attempts to associate it with accusations of misconduct,” said a Qatari official in a statement e-mailed Sunday morning.

As this potentially superlative scandal continues to unfold, POLITICO answers all your questions about the controversy roiling the EU capital.

Q: Who is Eva Kaili?

As one of Parliament’s 14 vice presidents, Kaili is one of the institution’s most powerful players — and as a former news presenter with celebrity status in her native Greece, one of Brussels’ most glamorous figures.

But Kaili has also emerged as one of the most vocal defenders of Qatar. She recently called the country a “frontrunner in labor rights” after meeting with the country’s labor minister, despite deep international concerns about conditions for stadium construction workers. A member of the center-left Socialist & Democrat (S&D) party, her portfolio includes special responsibilities related to the Middle East.

Kaili’s partner and co-parent, Francesco Giorgi, has also been detained, according to police and people with direct knowledge. He’s an adviser on the Middle East and North Africa region in the European Parliament — and a founder of an NGO called Fight Impunity, which aims to promote “accountability as a central pillar of the architecture of international justice.”

Crucially, Fight Impunity’s president is Pier Antonio Panzeri, a central figure in the case.

Q: Who else is involved?

Panzeri, an Italian ex-MEP also from the S&D, was among those arrested Friday morning. By the evening, his wife and daughter were also nabbed by Italian police. A warrant for their arrest, seen by POLITICO, accused Panzeri of “intervening politically with members working at the European Parliament for the benefit of Qatar and Morocco.”

41 Rue Ducale in Brussels where both No Peace Without Justice and Fight Impunity have offices | Eddy Wax | Eddy Wax

Former parliamentary aides, especially those with ties to Fight Impunity, are also falling under scrutiny. In addition to arresting Giorgi, police also sealed the office of another parliamentary assistant who used to work for Fight Impunity, currently serving as an aide to Belgian S&D MEP Marie Arena.

Arena, who inherited the chairmanship of the human rights subcommittee from Panzeri and works closely with Fight Impunity, confirmed that her aide’s office was under seal. Arena said she herself has not been questioned by police.

According to Italian newswire Ansa, Niccolò Figà-Talamanca has also been detained. He’s the director general of another NGO, No Peace Without Justice. Focused on international criminal justice, human rights and promoting democracy in the Middle East and North Africa, the organization is officially based in New York and Rome. However, it has the same Brussels address as Fight Impunity, at 41 Rue Ducale.

Emma Bonino, a former liberal MEP and foreign affairs minister for Italy, founded No Peace Without Justice. She is listed as an honorary board member of Fight Impunity. She and Figà-Talamanca did not immediately respond to requests for comment through Peace Without Justice.

In a sign of Panzeri’s connections, former French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, former European Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and former MEP Cecilia Wikström are also listed as honorary board members.

Mogherini resigned from the board on Saturday morning, according to a spokesperson for the College of Europe, where Mogherini is now rector. Avramopoulos said in an email Sunday morning that he, Cazeneuve and Wikström had also resigned “immediately when we were informed back on Friday.”

The list of staff at Fight Impunity has apparently been deleted; however, web archives show Giorgi and other current parliamentary assistants holding key roles in January.

Q: Is this limited to the European Parliament?

Nope. Also detained: Luca Visentini, who just last month became secretary general of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). Before that, he was the longtime chief of the European Trade Union Confederation. (He didn’t have to move for the new role: Both the global and the European organizations are based at the same address in Brussels, on Rue Albert II.)

Builders’ unions have been some of the top critics of Qatar’s record on worker’s rights in the lead-up to the World Cup. But even before Visentini took over, ITUC was a notable exception. Sharan Burrow, the previous ITUC chief, urged external critics of the country’s labor laws to “go and have a look at a look at the change” in a video posted by the Qatari labor ministry in June.

Q: Why would Qatar want to lobby?

The Gulf emirate is hosting the World Cup, but rather than a public relations coup, the tournament turned out to shine a negative spotlight on the country. Accusations of bribery in the bidding process and slave-like conditions for foreign workers cast doubt on the choice, and liberal critics seized on the moment to attack the conservative Muslim country’s position on women’s and LGBTQ+ rights.

Fans arrive prior to kick off of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 | Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Maintaining a good reputation is crucial, as Qatar works to hash out deals with EU countries for its natural gas. A proposal to give Qataris visa-free travel to the EU’s Schengen area is also moving forward in Parliament — at least, it was.

Q: How has Kaili advocated for Qatar?

Kaili has arguably been the dean of the (sizeable group of) Doha defenders within the S&D.

On November 24, for example, as the plenary passed a resolution “deplor[ing] the deaths of thousands of migrant workers,” Kaili took to the floor to praise the “historical transformation” of Qatar brought on by the World Cup. Similarly, 10 days ago, she showed up to vote in favor of visa liberalization for Qatar and Kuwait in the Parliament’s justice and home affairs committee — even though she’s not a member of the committee.

Kaili also alienated MEPs on a panel dedicated to the Middle East when she freelanced her own trip after Doha canceled the group’s visit. The Parliament’s Delegation for Relations With the Arab Peninsula (DARP) had been planning to head to Qatar just ahead of the World Cup in November, to visit tournament facilities and observe labor law changes.

With barely a month’s notice, however, Qatar’s consultative assembly, known as the Shura Council, asked to postpone. Instead, Kaili went to Qatar the week the full delegation was supposed to be there — and gave full-throated praise to the emirate’s labor reforms. According to local press, she said she was there representing 500 million European citizens who see the country’s progress as representing common values.

“She was somehow going behind my back,” said MEP Hannah Neumann, the German Green at the helm of DARP. Doha was “uninviting the group that would have had a balanced position” and “instead invited her, knowing that her statements would be less critical.”

Repeated calls to Kaili’s mobile phone Friday and Saturday went unanswered.

Q: How big a deal is this?

Watchdog groups agree on the superlatives. The Qatar scandal could be “the most egregious case” of alleged corruption Parliament has seen in years, said Transparency International chief Michiel van Hulten. Alberto Alemanno, a law professor at HEC Paris, called it the “most shocking integrity scandal in the history of the EU.”

German Green MEP Daniel Freund, co-chair of the Parliament’s anti-corruption intergroup, called it one of the “most serious corruption scandals in Brussels in recent decades.”

Van Hulten said the Parliament has created a “culture of impunity … with a combination of lax financial rules and controls and a complete lack of independent (or indeed any) ethics oversight.” Alemmano likewise predicted this would just be the “tip of the iceberg,” hoping a pile-up of scandals would create political momentum for an independent ethics system.

Q. What are people saying can be done about it?

The Commission is due to propose an independent ethics body that would apply to all EU institutions, but it almost certainly will not come with investigative or enforcement power.

Freund argued that countries that are not part of the EU should have to follow the “relatively good lobbying rules already in force” in Brussels. At the moment, countries don’t have to register in the EU’s transparency register of interest groups, for example, and MEPs don’t need to report those contacts. “The EU must improve this immediately,” Freund said.

Incidentally, Panzeri’s NGO, Fight Impunity, is not listed in the transparency register. That’s an apparent violation of the existing rules for EU-based groups that want to make their case in Parliament. Under the latest transparency register guidelines, NGOs are required to include extensive details about their funding.

Arena, the current chair of the human rights subcommittee, has worked closely with Panzeri and Fight Impunity, including the NGO in press conferences and traveling with Panzeri for discussions on civil liberties.

Even as she defended her own independence, Arena predicted that more revelations would come out. “If Qatar is doing so, I know that others are doing exactly the same,” Arena said. “And so we have to really prevent this kind of capacity to influence.”

Current chair of the human rights subcommittee Maria Arena | EP

Q: How’s it going now for Qatar?

The blowback from these accusations is already coming fast.

The S&D has called for the visa liberalization proposal to be put on hold, and the Green rapporteur said he would vote against the measure if it comes up for a vote next week.

Separately, Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee planned to head to Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the coming weeks. Now the latter part has been canceled — meaning a top rival of Doha gets all the attention.

“Any association of the Qatari government with the reported claims is baseless and gravely misinformed,” said the Qatari official statement issued Sunday. “The State of Qatar works through institution-to-institution engagement and operates in full compliance with international laws and regulations.”

Q: What’s next in the Parliament?

Late Saturday, Parliament President Roberta Metsola suspended all of Kaili’s “powers, duties and tasks” related to being a vice president. To revoke the title completely would require a decision by the Parliament’s conference of presidents, and then a vote in the plenary.

When the plenary gathers in Strasbourg this week, MEPs are likely to revoke Kaili’s parliamentary immunity. The Left has already formally called for a debate about the incident to be added to the agenda, with a vote slated for Monday evening.

Kaili has also been suspended from the S&D group and her domestic party in Greece, Pasok.

Eddy Wax, Nektaria Stamouli, Hannah Roberts and Vincent Manancourt contributed reporting.

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Sarah Wheaton

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December 8, 2022
A few bad apples or a whole rotten barrel? Brussels wrestles with corruption scandal

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As Belgian police launched a second wave of raids on the European Parliament, a stunned Brussels elite has started to grapple with an uncomfortable question at the heart of the Qatar bribery investigation: Just how deep does the rot go?

So far, police inquiries launched by Belgian prosecutor Michel Claise have landed four people in jail, including Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili, on charges of corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organization.

After the initial shock of those arrests wore off, several Parliament officials told POLITICO they believed the allegations would be limited to a “few individuals” who had gone astray by allegedly accepting hundreds of thousands of euros in cash from Qatari interests.

But that theory was starting to unravel by Monday evening, as Belgian police carried out another series of raids on Parliament offices just as lawmakers were gathering in Strasbourg, one of European Parliament’s two sites, for their first meeting after news of the arrests broke on Friday.

With 19 residences and offices searched — in addition to Parliament — six people arrested and sums of at least around €1 million recovered, some EU officials and activists said they believed more names would be drawn into the widening dragnet — and that the Qatar bribery scandal was symptomatic of a much deeper and more widespread problem with corruption not just in the European Parliament, but across all the EU institutions.

In Parliament, lax oversight of members’ financial activities and the fact that states were able to contact them without ever logging the encounters in a public register amounts to a recipe for corruption, these critics argued.

Beyond the Parliament, they pointed to the revolving door of senior officials who head off to serve private interests after a stint at the European Commission or Council as proof that tougher oversight of institutions is in order. Others invoked the legacy of the Jacques Santer Commission — which resigned en masse in 1998 — as proof that no EU institution is immune from illegal influence.

“The courts will determine who is guilty, but what’s certain is that it’s not just Qatar, and it’s not just the individuals who have been named who are involved” in foreign influence operations, Raphaël Glucksmann, a French lawmaker from the Socialists and Democrats, who heads a committee against foreign interference in Parliament, told POLITICO in Strasbourg.

Michiel van Hulten, a former lawmaker who now heads Transparency International’s EU office, said that while egregious cases of corruption involving bags of cash were rare, “it’s quite likely that there are names in this scandal that we haven’t heard from yet. There is undue influence on a scale we haven’t seen so far. It doesn’t need to involve bags of cash. It can involve trips to far-flung destinations paid for by foreign organizations — and in that sense there is a more widespread problem.”

Adding to the problem was the fact that Parliament has no built-in protections for internal whistleblowers, despite having voted in favor of such protections for EU citizens, he added. Back in 1998, it was a whistleblower denouncing mismanagement in the Santer Commission who precipitated a mass resignation of the EU executive.

Glucksmann also called for “extremely profound reforms” to a system that allows lawmakers to hold more than one job, leaves oversight of personal finances up to a self-regulating committee staffed by lawmakers, and gives state actors access to lawmakers without having to register their encounters publicly.

European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili | Jalal Morchidi/EFE via EPA

“If Parliament wants to get out of this, we’ll have to hit hard and undertake extremely profound reforms,” added Glucksmann, who previously named Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan as countries that have sought to influence political decisions in the Parliament.

To start addressing the problem, Glucksmann called for an ad hoc investigative committee to be set up in Parliament, while other left-wing and Greens lawmakers have urged reforms including naming an anti-corruption vice president to replace Kaili, who was expelled from the S&D group late Monday, and setting up an ethics committee overseeing all EU institutions.

Glass half-full

Others, however, were less convinced that the corruption probe would turn up new names, or that the facts unveiled last Friday spoke to any wider problem in the EU. Asked about the extent of the bribery scandal, one senior Parliament official who asked not to be named in order to discuss confidential deliberations said: “As serious as this is, it’s a matter of individuals, of a few people who made very bad decisions. The investigation and arrests show that our systems and procedures have worked.”

Valérie Hayer, a French lawmaker with the centrist Renew group, struck a similar note, saying that while she was deeply concerned about a “risk for our democracy” linked to foreign interference, she did not believe that the scandal pointed to “generalized corruption” in the EU. “Unfortunately, there are bad apples,” she said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who’s under fire over her handling of COVID-19 vaccination deals with Pfizer, declined to answer questions about her Vice President Margaritis Schinas’ relations with Qatar at a press briefing, triggering fury from the Brussels press corps.

The Greek commissioner represented the EU at the opening ceremony of the World Cup last month, and has been criticized by MEPs over his tweets in recent months, lavishing praise on Qatar’s labor reforms.

European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas | Aris Oikonomou/AFP via Getty Images

Asked about the Commission’s response to the Qatar corruption scandal engulfing the European Parliament, and in particular the stance of Schinas, von der Leyen was silent on the Greek commissioner.

Von der Leyen did, however, appear to lend support to the creation of an independent ethics body that could investigate wrongdoing across all EU bodies.

“These rules [on lobbying by state actors] are the same in all three EU institutions,” said the senior Parliament official, referring to the European Commission, Parliament and the European Council, the roundtable of EU governments.

The split over how to address corruption shows how even in the face of what appears to be an egregious example of corruption, members of the Brussels system — comprised of thousands of well-paid bureaucrats and elected officials, many of whom enjoy legal immunity as part of their jobs — seeks to shield itself against scrutiny that could threaten revenue or derail careers.

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Nicholas Vinocur and Nicolas Camut

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December 8, 2022
Democrats Want Answers About Jared Kushner’s Very Shady Middle East Deal (No, Not the Saudi One!)

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In August 2018, an economic miracle for the ages took place. Eleven years after a 26-year-old Jared Kushner plunked down a record-setting $1.8 billion on an aging Midtown skyscraper (on the eve of the financial crisis, no less), and just six months before the Kushner family would have to come up with the $1.4 billion it owed on the mortgage for the aptly named 666 Fifth Avenue, an alternative investment firm named Brookfield Asset Management came to the family business’s rescue. That rescue entailed taking on a 99-year lease for the place, which had become an albatross around Jared & Co’s necks, and, The New York Times reported at the time, paying a whopping $1.1 billion in upfront rent; coupled with the reported negotiations between Jared’s father, Charles Kushner, and the company’s lenders, to pay less than Kushner Companies was in debt for, the family narrowly escaped a major financial pickle.

That the presidential in-laws were able to emerge from Jared’s historically bad decision to buy 666 was extremely surprising for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the fact that his previous partner had reportedly once said that 666 Fifth “would be worth a lot more if it was just dirt.” Also, there was the fact that the Kushners had spent years attempting to drum up a bailout without success, reportedly being rebuffed by everyone from the richest man in France to the South Korea’s sovereign wealth fund. What, exactly, did Brookfield see in the place?

The prevailing theory at the time was that the deal may have had something to do with Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, which was one of Brookfield’s biggest investors, and Jared Kushner’s work in the White House (as you may recall, Donald Trump tasked Jared Kushner with bringing peace to the Middle East). While Brookfield steadfastly insisted that Qatar knew nothing about a deal to bail out the then president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, not everyone—congressional Democrats in particular—believed that the arrangement was entirely above board. And apparently, they still don’t.

The Washington Post reports that Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Carolyn Maloney, in their capacities as chairs of the Senate Finance Committee and House Oversight Committee, have “launched an aggressive new effort to obtain information about whether Jared Kushner’s actions on US policy in the Persian Gulf region as a senior White House adviser were influenced by the bailout of a property owned by his family business.” In letters sent to the Defense and State departments Monday night, the lawmakers requested material they believe could reveal if “Kushner’s financial conflict of interest may have led him to improperly influence US tax, trade, and national security policies for his own financial gain.” And the optics do not look great.

Per the Post:

Kushner played a significant role in policy affecting Qatar. He had helped persuade Trump to strengthen ties with Saudi Arabia during a May 2017 visit to the Arab nation. A month later, Saudi Arabia joined several countries in breaking relationships with Qatar and imposing a blockade, accusing Qatar of financing terrorism. Kushner wrote in his memoir that, contrary to accusations by some in the administration, he was not to blame for the Saudi action against Qatar and “tried to convince them to delay the decision.” He then tried to work to lift the blockade against Qatar, he wrote.

With questions swirling about whether Kushner used his influence to get investors to bail out the Fifth Avenue building, Charles Kushner in January 2018 gave his first interview about the matter, telling the Post that he had purposefully avoided doing business with sovereign investment funds or similar entities, to avoid a conflict of interest with his son’s White House job. A month after that interview, according to emails obtained by the committees, Charles Kushner talked with [Ric] Clark, the Brookfield chairman, about investing in the Fifth Avenue property. An associate of Charles Kushner then emailed Clark with a summary of a proposed deal.

Two months later, Qatar’s leader visited the White House and Trump officials called for an end to the blockade. In their letter, the committees said the Trump administration’s support for the blockade “evaporated shortly after Charles Kushner’s discussion with Brookfield,” but they did not supply evidence that the two events are linked. The following month, Brookfield and the Kushner real estate company confirmed that they were negotiating a deal on the Fifth Avenue building.

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Bess Levin

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December 7, 2022
‘What a great day’: Morocco wakes up to a dream that came true

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As the sun rose above Morocco on Wednesday morning, the thrill and ecstasy from the night before had barely settled.

It is just hours after the Moroccan football team had created history – a place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup after beating Spain on Tuesday evening in Doha.

It was an unprecedented feat for a side that not many picked to be in the last eight.

In Doha, the fans sang, danced and celebrated into the early morning. And it was a feeling not lost on Moroccans back home.

“What a great day to be a Moroccan,” Abdessamad told Al Jazeera in Marrakesh. “My heart sank every time we failed to score from an opportunity. As Spain missed their penalties, I forgot everything around me. Suddenly, the loud roar around me made me realise we made it to the quarter-finals.

“Our team is on the road to something more magical, something bigger, something insane.”

In the capital, Rabat, cafes were lined up with people eager to watch the match, roads were packed and squares where screenings were taking place were filled with flags and Moroccans wearing team jerseys. A feeling of hope and optimism prevailed.

Fans in Casablanca after Morocco beat Spain [Abdelhak Balhaki/Reuters]

The win gave them an excuse to celebrate all night.

“It’s the first time I had this feeling,” Fahd Belbachir was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. “We’re so proud.”

It was a day where history was made and Moroccans on the streets the morning after said they could not be more proud of what the team had achieved.

Some were even in disbelief, not fully able to comprehend that the dream was in fact reality.

“We are so proud of our Lions, who fought hard to get us into the quarter-finals,” Niama Meddoun, a Rabat resident, said. “We are delighted to be Moroccans today, since we are the first Arab country that has reached the quarter-finals.”

Videos circulating online showed the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, out celebrating with a Moroccan flag.

He praised the national team “who gave their all and blazed a trail throughout this great sporting event”. He added that the players represented the “hopes and dreams of Moroccans in Morocco, Qatar, and all over the world”.

With only eight out of the 32 teams left, Morocco is the only Arab and African nation in the tournament at this stage at the first World Cup being held in the Middle East.

Morocco’s success at the tournament has reverberated across the Arab world and among Moroccan and some other immigrant communities in Europe.

The winning penalty scored by Achraf Hakimi [Matthew Childs/Reuters]

Ceuta is a Spanish exclave which borders Morocco on the North African coast. Its population is a mix of Spaniards and Moroccan residents and workers. The Associated Press reported that the win was also celebrated with cars honking horns there.

“What pride, what happiness, now to celebrate with friends. I have lost my voice,” said 20-year-old Ismael Mustafa. “We were able to pull it off. For Spain? You will win next time, so no worries.”

TV channels in Morocco dedicated the news bulletins to pan to various celebrations taking place across all cities and regions in Morocco.

The common denominator in all: euphoric supporters enjoying the joyous occasion. “Spain is gone, who is next” was a common phrase shouted across the country.

“The national team doesn’t only represent Moroccans, it represent Arabs and Africans from all over the world,” one fan told Al Jazeera in Marrakesh. “Football has united all these nations under the Moroccan flag.”

Reporting by Khadija Satou in Marrakech and Faras Ghani in Doha

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December 7, 2022
Fans’ wild World Cup fashion draws praise, scorn in Qatar

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DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The World Cup in Qatar has become a political lightning rod, so it comes as no surprise that soccer fans’ sartorial style has sparked controversy.

Forget your classic soccer jerseys – the streets of Doha have been transformed into a chaotic runway show in terms of fashion.

Visitors from around the world are wearing revamped versions of traditional Gulf Arab headdresses and thobes. Western women have tried out hijabs. England fans have donned crusader costumes. The politically minded have made statements with rainbow accessories in Qatar, which criminalizes homosexuality.

Fan fashion has drawn everything from amusement to outrage from locals in the tiny Muslim emirate that has seen nothing remotely like the spectacle of the World Cup before.

The most popular style among foreign fans at this World Cup is the ghutra, the traditional head scarf worn by men across the Arabian Peninsula.

If photographed at a Halloween party back home in Cape Town, South Africa, 60-year-old Gavin Coetzee admits his wardrobe choice might seem ill-conceived — even cringe-worthy. He asked a tailor to stitch together four African flags into a ghutra and stereotypical Arabian thobe, the long flowing tunic that Qatari men wear in crisp white.

“I wouldn’t wear this in a Western country,” he said, referring to heightened cultural sensitivity there. But to his surprise, his costume has drawn elation and praise from locals in Qatar.

“It’s been amazing. Everyone wants to take our photo, ask us where we’re from, they’re interested in why we put this outfit together,” he said, alongside two friends wearing the same get-up.

The narrow alleys of Doha’s central Souq Waqif teem with vendors hawking ghutras in various national colors, from Brazil’s bright blue, green and yellow to Mexico’s tricolor red, white and green. The sellers iron and fold them to create a widow’s peak effect, carefully fitting the cloth to fans’ heads in the so-called cobra style of worn by Qataris.

“I wanted to immerse in the culture. It’s fun to get to try new things,” said 41-year-old Ricardo Palacios from Venezuela, wearing a red-and-white checkered headdress. “Locals are in shock … that someone wearing a Spanish shirt is wearing this.”

Qataris’ only complaint so far, Palacios added, is that “I don’t know how to do it right.” He said locals stop him in the street, restyling his headgear so it looks the way it should. Similar videos have been widely shared on social media.

Qatari citizen Naji al-Naimi, a board member of Majlis al-Dama, a lively hub of coffee and backgammon in Doha’s outdoor marketplace, said the scores of international fans wearing his national dress don’t bother him in the least. Instead, he finds the trend endearing. He compared it to citizens of the Arabian Peninsula wearing jeans or suits when traveling in Europe.

“We’re always trying to adjust and appeal to the customs and traditions of the host country,” he said.

Among non-Muslim visitors, even the hijab, the traditional Muslim headscarf showing piety to Allah, has emerged as trendy World Cup wear. Online videos show foreign women on the streets of Doha donning colorful headscarves, exclaiming how secure and cute they feel.

Qatari-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera published a video last week showing a woman off-camera wrap hijabs around female fans she encountered in the street.

“Amazing!” shrieked one Brazil fan.

Qatar’s local population hasn’t taken kindly to other outfits, particularly England fans’ caped crusader costumes. The outfits, featuring a suit of chainmail armor, plastic helmet and shield emblazoned with an upright cross, are a nod to the Christian conquests of the Holy Land from the 11th to 13th centuries that pitted European invaders against Muslims.

Footage circulating on Twitter showed Qatari security turning away fans dressed as crusaders before the England-Iran match in the tournament’s group stage. Others reported they were asked to surrender their costumes before England played the United States a few days later.

“What is so painful is to see some visitors in our country praising the glories of Crusader Europe, which disgraced the honor of all Muslims,” said Ashraf al-Khadeer, a 33-year-old Qatari citizen in Doha.

But the biggest flashpoint at the tournament so far has been rainbow clothing and other multicolored accessories as Qatar’s criminalization of homosexuality triggered a storm of criticism. After FIFA threatened European teams wearing “One Love” armbands with in-game discipline, some fans have taken it upon themselves to show solidarity with the LGBTQ community.

Days after fans complained they were blocked from stadiums because of rainbow attire, FIFA offered assurances that Qatari security would allow the items into matches. The rule has been unevenly enforced.

To avoid the hassle, a French advertising agency has promoted World Cup armbands printed with black-and-white Pantone cards that identify rainbow colors with numbers. Others have gone to extremes, such as the protester who stormed the field with a rainbow flag during the match between Portugal and Uruguay before being tackled by a steward.

More broadly, the question of what to wear at the World Cup in Qatar, a conservative Muslim emirate, has sparked anxiety for female fans long before the tournament kicked off.

Fan groups circulated advice for newcomers, discouraging women from wearing shorts and short-sleeved shirts. The government-run tourism website asks visitors to “show respect for local culture by avoiding excessively revealing clothing,” and recommends men and women cover their shoulders and knees.

So when Ivana Knöll, an Instagram model and former Croatian beauty queen, showed up to stadiums this week wearing a minidress that exposed much of her chest, some feared an international incident. But Knöll said she felt comfortable and that locals assured her she could wear whatever she wanted.

On Friday, Knöll posted a photo on Instagram of Qatari men snapping photos as she strutted down stadium bleachers in tight leggings and a bra.

“Thank you so much for your support!” she wrote to celebrate her 1 million followers, drawing comments in Qatar reflecting a mix of admiration, outrage and puzzlement.

___

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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December 6, 2022
Morocco and Spain go to penalty shootout at World Cup

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Spain’s Marco Asensio, top, and Morocco’s Nayef Aguerd challenge for the ball during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Morocco and Spain, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

The Associated Press

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December 6, 2022
Son exits World Cup without showing his best for South Korea

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DOHA, Qatar (AP) — As Brazil’s big-time player made his return to the World Cup in Qatar, the superstar of South Korean soccer made his exit.

Son Heung-min is his country’s Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and, yes, Neymar, all wrapped up into one. Yet, as Neymar recovered from an ankle injury to score in Brazil’s 4-1 win over South Korea in the round of 16 on Monday, Son’s latest chance to light up the sport’s biggest stage came and went.

“We gave everything,” Son said. “Brazil is the favorite, look at their players. If you give them spaces they score. I’m so proud of what we’ve done and I don’t want to blame any of our players because they gave everything.”

For Neymar, there was a 76th international goal that moves him within one of Brazilian great Pelé’s scoring record for his country — and closer to a possible sixth World Cup for the tournament’s most successful team.

For Son, there was the frustration of knowing he was never going to be at the peak of his powers in Qatar. Not after an eye socket broken only a few weeks earlier forced him to wear a protective facemask throughout his four matches.

Sure, Son made it to the World Cup, but not the same player who has established himself as one of the best strikers in Europe with Tottenham and was the co-leading scorer in the English Premier League last season, along with Mohamed Salah, with 23.

He leaves the World Cup without a single goal.

Against Brazil at Stadium 974, with South Korea trailing 4-0 at halftime, his big moment came soon after the restart.

Bearing down on goal, he sized up his chance and picked out the corner of the net. Unfortunately, Brazil goalkeeper Alisson was ready and managed to deflect the ball around the post.

In a later goalmouth scramble, Son again had an effort blocked.

Not that the South Koreans should depart with any regrets about their showing in Qatar. After all, few would have expected them to overcome a Brazil team that came into the tournament as one of the favorites.

South Korea’s place in the knockout round was secured with a moment that will live long in team lore, when Hwang Hee-chan scored in stoppage time to secure a 2-1 win over Portugal and advancement from Group H.

The man who provided the assist for that goal? Son, with an intricate pass that split Portugal’s defense and sparked unforgettable celebrations from the South Korean players and fans.

So Son played his part at this World Cup, even if he leaves it without being at his best.

___

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

___

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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December 6, 2022
‘The right to dream’: Hope in Morocco ahead of Spain match

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The perennial underachievers are finally soaring at a World Cup.

Morocco are on the verge of qualifying for a World Cup quarter-final, a feat that the team has never achieved in five previous World Cup appearances.

A draw against World Cup 2018 finalists Croatia was followed by a shock win over Belgium and a defeat of Canada in the group stages. Suddenly, Moroccans started believing, wishing for the dream to continue.

On Tuesday, the sun rose in Morocco, bringing hope and expectations.

Most cafés in Morocco now are draped in flags and banners. Some have set special menus and have not only added more TVs but also upgraded the existing ones to bigger and better screens, hoping to attract more patrons.

If fans want to watch the game at a café, they need to go at least two hours prior to kickoff, or reserve a table the night before. Without that, seats are difficult to find.

Morocco World Cup fever on the streets [Khadija Satou/Al Jazeera]

Cinemas will be screening the match instead of movies. Local musicians have been invited to cheer and sing the national anthem with fans.

Jordan team coach Adnan Hamad, who hails from Iraq, had labelled the Moroccan team as the “dark horse” of the tournament.

“That team is considered the best Arab team playing in the Qatar World Cup. It has 20 professional players from major European leagues. In the qualifiers, it passed with flying colours and has a major chance of progressing from the group,” he told Al Jazeera before the start of the contest.

“I believe that the Moroccan team has the best set of players, and the opportunity is in their hands to be the dark horse of the tournament.”

Qualifying for the World Cup was a huge deal for the country but after it did, all eyes were set on progressing from the group stages.

“I’m scared. Not because I don’t believe in the team. All we can do is support and cheer and have faith,” Moroccan supporter Kaoutar told Al Jazeera in Marrakesh. “Spain is a strong team and has achieved quite a lot. But let’s stay optimistic and hope for the best.”

Another fan, Mohammed, meanwhile, is more optimistic: “I strongly believe that we will crash Spain. We have a strong team that can take Spain and any other team down and stay in the World Cup. Even if we lose, I will still go out and celebrate because as a Moroccan I’m proud of the team. We’re the only team left that represents Arabs and that’s quite amazing.”

Jerseys, scarves and flags being sold in Morocco [Khadija Satou/Al Jazeera]

For some, including fan Mehdi, there is a bit of superstition involved.

“I will not cheer and talk about the team until Tuesday. If someone asks, I will say that we have no chance against Spain but deep down, I think we can make history. I used this tactic for all previous matches and look, we’re still in the World Cup,” he said.

National TV channels are airing daily football segments in the news bulletins to show the players throughout their workouts and preparations, live footage of them getting ready for the match, and interviews with team officials and family members.

The newspapers are writing about the new coach, how he succeeded in building the team and also lauding the players on how they have performed so far. World Cup fever, coupled with the team’s showing, has firmly gripped the nation.

On match day, there are flags everywhere, people are singing national songs on the streets and screaming midfielder Hakim Ziyech’s name. They also have a message for Moroccan supporters in Qatar: be as loud and cheerful as possible so the players feel like they’re playing in Casablanca.

And that request is being answered in the Gulf.

“This team is making the hearts of all Moroccans beat as one. The pride, excitement – and fear – this is something we’ve not seen since 1986,” Yasmina Bennani, a Moroccan supporter in Qatar, said. “To go past the first round was the first football joy for the young generation and it’s beautiful because what’s happening on the pitch is bringing together children of the Moroccan diaspora, born all over Europe.”

The fans in Qatar have been loud and vocal in their support for Morocco [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

For Boutaina Essadiki, the team’s performance has been a shining light not only for Moroccans but all Arab football fans.

“The win [over Spain] will be a victory for all Arab teams,” Essadiki said. “I’m so proud to be a Moroccan right now. And given the situation, even if I wasn’t a Moroccan I’d like to be one to join in and celebrate.”

Back in Essaouira, a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marrakesh-Safi on the Atlantic Ocean, a huge screen has been set up in a famous square called Place Moulay Hassan to telecast all the national team’s games.

A video shared after the win over Belgium showed fans and police officials dancing together.

Moroccans across the world, and some neutral fans, will be hoping the dancing continues.

“Most people didn’t have faith in us that we can beat Belgium and qualify. But look at us now, we’ve qualified for the last 16 and will hopefully win against Spain and continue the journey to the final,” Sami, a Moroccan supporter, said.

“We have every right to dream. We’re called the Atlas Lions for a reason.”

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December 6, 2022
World Cup fans find booze at hotels, Qatar’s 1 liquor store

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DOHA, Qatar (AP) — In a dusty neighborhood on the outskirts of Qatar’s capital, guards stand duty at a gated compound ringed with razor wire, carefully checking passports and permits before allowing anyone inside. But this isn’t a prison or a high-security area associated with the ongoing World Cup.

It’s the liquor store.

Rigid limits on alcohol are a fact of life in this conservative Muslim nation on the Arabian Peninsula, which follows the same strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam as its neighbor Saudi Arabia. Soccer fans coming to Qatar for the World Cup got a taste of that just before the tournament as authorities cancelled beer sales at stadiums.

Yet corks continue to be popped in luxury boxes at games. Fans are filling pints from beer towers at dozens of hotel bars, lounges and nightclubs with liquor licenses. Sales of $14 Budweisers at Doha’s FIFA Fan Zone continue unabated.

“Not to say that you need alcohol to fuel your life, but it’s a good time,” said Ed Ball, an American who created an online map for imbibers in Doha to find bars. “The idea being passed around that you can’t drink in Qatar is wrong. There are places.”

In addition to the bars, there’s the liquor store where non-Muslim residents and visitors can shop after applying for a government-issued license. Located next to an Indian school in Doha’s dusty Abu Hamour neighborhood, it is run by the Qatar Distribution Co., a state-owned enterprise under the umbrella of Qatar Airways, which holds exclusive rights to distribute alcohol and pork in the country.

The store — currently the only one selling liquor in Qatar — operates on an appointment system, harkening back to the strict coronavirus regulations that governed this country prior to just before the World Cup.

On a recent visit, guards twice checked an Associated Press reporter’s identifications and appointments. Razor wire tops the compound’s high walls, which bar the public from a peek inside. Signs warn that any abuse aimed at the guards can result in an alcohol license being revoked. Empty silver-colored beer kegs are piled up in the parking lot.

At the end of a chlorine-scented walkway, customers reach the entrance to the store. Inside, the shelves and stands are stocked with bottles of wine largely running from $12.50 up to $45. A liter of Absolut vodka goes for $42, while a liter of Jack Daniels whiskey sets a shopper back $70. A 24-pack of standard Budweiser cans costs nearly $52.

A small section of the store offers frozen pork pepperoni pizzas, slabs of bacon, Spam and cans of pork and beans.

Customers filled their carts or carried bottles and cans in their hands, checking against shopping lists or texting family members to double check what was needed. Several wore FIFA passes for the tournament around their necks.

Outside the shop, a 31-year-old British woman who works as a school teacher in Qatar, filled the trunk of her car. She declined to offer her name, given the connotations drinking can carry in Qatari society, but dismissed criticism surrounding drinking and the tournament.

“It’s really not that big of a deal,” she said of the licensing system in Qatar. “It’s like going to the supermarket — for alcohol.”

She added that she thought the restrictions on sales for the matches also made sense. “I’m British. I know what it’s like to to be around drunk people all the time.”

Across the wider Persian Gulf, alcohol remains banned in Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the sheikhdom of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Drinking alcohol is considered haram, or forbidden, in Islam. Imams point to a verse in the Quran calling wine “the work of Satan.”

But the region as a whole has a long history with alcohol, itself an Arabic word. The 8th century poet Abu Nawas even was known for his “khamriyyat,” or “wine poems.”

Both alcohol and pork face a 100% import duty. Qatar says it uses the tax revenue to improve health care, infrastructure, education and other public services.

Visitors are not allowed to bring alcohol into the country. Many hotels are dry and prohibit guests from bringing alcohol to their rooms.

Even with those restrictions, Qatar sold 23.2 million liters of alcoholic drinks in 2021, according to data from Euromonitor International. Though dwarfed by the United Arab Emirates’ 115 million liters sold in the same period, Qatar’s numbers show a 14.6% growth as the pandemic waned.

Meanwhile, Ball’s online map of bars in Qatar has been viewed over 875,000 times. An accompanying Twitter account shows him downing two pints of beer in 10 seconds.

“For me, drinking is just like eating. It just goes along with the culture,” Ball told the AP after returning home to Seattle, where he works for Boeing Co. “I know it’s not part of Qatar … but it’s also part of the World Cup. One of the biggest sponsors is Budweiser so it just goes to show you it kind of goes hand in hand.”

Bars in Qatar typically scan IDs of those heading in, with many working on a voucher system during the tournament to make sure fans spend at least certain amount.

On Saturday night, a group of Russians screamed expletives at the U.S. team during its match with the Netherlands as they downed shots and posed for photographs with servers at Doha’s Irish Harp.

Dermot O’Callaghan, a 66-year-old soccer fan from Dublin, Ireland, enjoyed a much calmer pint at the bar, swaying along to the Cuban band Chicas Melao.

“It’s very enjoyable, you can get a drink here if you want in the evenings,” O’Callaghan said. “You do have a cohort of fans roaming around, looking for a drink.”

___

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

___

Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.

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December 5, 2022
World Cup fans overcome strict hurdles to find booze in Qatar

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In a dusty neighborhood on the outskirts of Qatar’s capital, guards stand duty at a gated compound ringed with razor wire, carefully checking passports and permits before allowing anyone inside. But this isn’t a prison or a high-security area associated with the ongoing World Cup.

It’s the liquor store.

Rigid limits on alcohol are a fact of life in this conservative Muslim nation on the Arabian Peninsula, which follows the same strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam as its neighbor Saudi Arabia. Soccer fans coming to Qatar for the World Cup got a taste of that just before the tournament as authorities cancelled beer sales at stadiums.

Yet corks continue to be popped in luxury boxes at games. Fans are filling pints from beer towers at dozens of hotel bars, lounges and nightclubs with liquor licenses. Sales of $14 Budweisers at Doha’s FIFA Fan Zone continue unabated.

“Not to say that you need alcohol to fuel your life, but it’s a good time,” said Ed Ball, an American who created an online map for imbibers in Doha to find bars. “The idea being passed around that you can’t drink in Qatar is wrong. There are places.”

Ecuador fans erupt in “We want beer” chants during opening match against Qatar

00:11

One state-owned liquor store

In addition to the bars, there’s the liquor store where non-Muslim residents and visitors can shop after applying for a government-issued license. Located next to an Indian school in Doha’s dusty Abu Hamour neighborhood, it is run by the Qatar Distribution Co., a state-owned enterprise under the umbrella of Qatar Airways, which holds exclusive rights to distribute alcohol and pork in the country.

The store — currently the only one selling liquor in Qatar — operates on an appointment system, harkening back to the strict coronavirus regulations that governed this country prior to just before the World Cup.

On a recent visit, guards twice checked an Associated Press reporter’s identifications and appointments. Razor wire tops the compound’s high walls, which bar the public from a peek inside. Signs warn that any abuse aimed at the guards can result in an alcohol license being revoked. Empty silver-colored beer kegs are piled up in the parking lot.

At the end of a chlorine-scented walkway, customers reach the entrance to the store. Inside, the shelves and stands are stocked with bottles of wine largely running from $12.50 up to $45. A liter of Absolut vodka goes for $42, while a liter of Jack Daniels whiskey sets a shopper back $70. A 24-pack of standard Budweiser cans costs nearly $52.

World Cup kicks off amid mounting pressure over Qatar’s LGBTQ views

04:16

“Not that big of a deal”

A small section of the store offers frozen pork pepperoni pizzas, slabs of bacon, Spam and cans of pork and beans.

Customers filled their carts or carried bottles and cans in their hands, checking against shopping lists or texting family members to double check what was needed. Several wore FIFA passes for the tournament around their necks.

Outside the shop, a 31-year-old British woman who works as a school teacher in Qatar, filled the trunk of her car. She declined to offer her name, given the connotations drinking can carry in Qatari society, but dismissed criticism surrounding drinking and the tournament.

“It’s really not that big of a deal,” she said of the licensing system in Qatar. “It’s like going to the supermarket — for alcohol.”

She added that she thought the restrictions on sales for the matches also made sense. “I’m British. I know what it’s like to to be around drunk people all the time.”

Complex history

Across the wider Persian Gulf, alcohol remains banned in Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the sheikhdom of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Drinking alcohol is considered haram, or forbidden, in Islam. Imams point to a verse in the Quran calling wine “the work of Satan.”

But the region as a whole has a long history with alcohol, itself an Arabic word. The 8th century poet Abu Nawas even was known for his “khamriyyat,” or “wine poems.”

Both alcohol and pork face a 100% import duty. Qatar says it uses the tax revenue to improve health care, infrastructure, education and other public services.

Visitors are not allowed to bring alcohol into the country. Many hotels are dry and prohibit guests from bringing alcohol to their rooms.

Qatar accused of labor abuses of migrant workers ahead of World Cup

03:08

Millions of liters sold despite restrictions

Even with those restrictions, Qatar sold 23.2 million liters of alcoholic drinks in 2021, according to data from Euromonitor International. Though dwarfed by the United Arab Emirates’ 115 million liters sold in the same period, Qatar’s numbers show a 14.6% growth as the pandemic waned.

Meanwhile, Ball’s online map of bars in Qatar has been viewed over 875,000 times. An accompanying Twitter account shows him downing two pints of beer in 10 seconds.

“For me, drinking is just like eating. It just goes along with the culture,” Ball told the AP after returning home to Seattle, where he works for Boeing Co. “I know it’s not part of Qatar … but it’s also part of the World Cup. One of the biggest sponsors is Budweiser so it just goes to show you it kind of goes hand in hand.”

Bars in Qatar typically scan IDs of those heading in, with many working on a voucher system during the tournament to make sure fans spend at least certain amount.

On Saturday night, a group of Russians screamed expletives at the U.S. team during its match with the Netherlands as they downed shots and posed for photographs with servers at Doha’s Irish Harp.

Dermot O’Callaghan, a 66-year-old soccer fan from Dublin, Ireland, enjoyed a much calmer pint at the bar, swaying along to the Cuban band Chicas Melao.

“It’s very enjoyable, you can get a drink here if you want in the evenings,” O’Callaghan said. “You do have a cohort of fans roaming around, looking for a drink.”

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December 5, 2022
‘World Cup Wallace’: Meet Brazilian football’s unofficial drummer

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Doha, Qatar – Since 1986, nothing has deterred Brazil’s unofficial World Cup drummer Wallace Leite from attending the most prestigious footballing event on the planet.

Age, injuries, family commitments, nothing has kept the Brazilian and his drum from the World Cup.

The 60-year-old from Sao Paulo has been at the last 10 world cups, tirelessly carrying and playing his Surdao (Brazilian drum) at every match featuring the Canarinha – “little canaries” as the Brazilian team is affectionally known owing to their bright yellow team jersey.

“It’s a natural high,” Leite said of drumming and the World Cup. “It’s like I have found the fountain of happiness,” he told Al Jazeera, decked out in the same outfit, featuring shades of Brazil’s national flag that he has worn to all his team’s games at the tournament in Qatar.

He prays the outfit will bring his side luck.

For Leite, it is all about the “positive response” he gets from the hordes of fans that gather around him when he plays the Surdao, in what he calls his “perfect place”.

“There are no issues, no politics, everybody just there supporting Brazil,” he said.

Wallace Leite celebrates the Brazilian team winning 3-1 against Peru in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [File: Leo Correa/AP Photo]

His instrument of choice is the Surdao, a 7kg (15lb) Brazilian drum he played at every World Cup game since the 1990 tournament in Italy. Previous to that, Leite said he had used a smaller type of percussion drum though the pitch was “too high” for his liking.

The Surdao helps keep “the rhythm together”.

“I feel I can move and hype so many more people with [the Surdao],” he adds.

Cutting a slender figure at 79kg (174lb) and 177cm (five feet, nine inches) in height, he admits that banging a large drum at month-long World Cup tournaments takes a physical toll.

“I have had several injuries including hurting my arms, shoulders, and of course neck. I’ll get a massage after the tournament or some therapy,” said Leite, whose day job in the United States, where he lives, is a computer hardware expert. “Many people say, well isn’t it all so hard? And I say yes, it is hard, but the satisfaction is greater.

“It’s just wow,” he adds as a look of wonder crosses his face when he recalls his time playing to crowds in dozens of stadiums over the past decades.

Leite (right) in Doha, Qatar with his Surdao, an instrument he has used at every World Cup game since the 1990 tournament in Italy [Courtesy of Wallace Leite]

‘Feel very special’

Leite, also known as Wallace Das Copa (World Cup Wallace) by his fans, said people regularly approach him for pictures, interviews and even autographs at the tournaments.

“It’s not like I am some celebrity, but it does make me feel very special.”

Residents in the countries hosting the World Cup have often invited him to their homes for meals or taken him to tourist spots, such as the Kruger Park for a Safari tour in South Africa, a visit to the Kremlin in Moscow, and camel ridding in Qatar.

Leite says he has been playing precussion drums since the early age of 11 [Courtesy of Wallace Leite]

“I have made so many friends around the world, learned so much about different cultures and customs, not everyone has a chance to do that. It’s a blessing,” the 60-year-old said proudly.

When asked what had been his favourite host country, he answers diplomatically: “All of them”.

“Every country has so much to offer in terms of kind people, beautiful places to visit. it’s hard to choose,” he said.

His fondest World Cup memories are, he said, “probably Mexico”.

According to Leite, the Mexican “people fell in love” with the Brazilian football team back in 1970 when the World Cup took place there. The team included football legends like Pele, and the Mexican crowds were mesmerised by the team’s uniquely creative style of play. Brazil would go on to win the trophy in Mexico, defeating Italy 4-1 in the final, with Pele scoring four goals in the tournament.

‘World Cup Wallace’ playing the drum in Torino, Italy during the 1990 World Cup during which Brazil was eliminated in the round of 16 by Argentina [Courtesy of Wallace Leite]

When he arrived in Mexico for his first World Cup in 1986, he said Mexicans “embraced” him like he was one of their own.

“I felt at home in Mexico. Oh my gosh, people were so nice. I didn’t spend any money. People would pay for everything,” he recounted.

“I would go to restaurants where they play mariachi music and they would say ‘let’s stop mariachi, we want to hear Brazilian samba’. In the streets people would be dancing and singing at all times of the day. The interactions I had with people, it was a great feeling.”

Can Brazil bring home a sixth World Cup?

Leite said he “certainly hopes” this will be the year the most coveted trophy in football returns to South America.

Exasperated, he says: “It’s been 20 years since we won.” Brazil last lifted the World Cup – their fifth – in 2002 in Japan.

Leite wearing a ghutra (Left) at Lusail Boulevard in Doha, Qatar [Courtesy of Wallace Leite]

For the first few tournaments, Leite said his wife Carmen, who works in the fashion industry and also from Sao Paulo, would accompany to all the games. “She would sing with me, dance in the streets,” he noted.

However, as time passed by, the drummer said Carmen would stop coming as frequently.

“It was just not her thing … like it is for me. For her, it became routine.” Leite, who said he prepares for weeks before the tournament even starts, organising his costumes and making new music, Carmen does urge him to spend more time with her and his two adult daughters.

“When the time comes (for the World Cup) she thinks I focus on it too much … that I’m too crazy about it,” he said. “But overall, she supports me.”

When asked how long he sees himself playing his drum at World Cup tournaments, he said he had no “time frame”.

“Only God knows,” he adds. “As long I can move, have good health, shout, and play my instrument, I will keep doing it.”

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December 5, 2022
Photos: England roar past Senegal into the quarter-finals

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Despite a sluggish start, England roared three times against a stalled Senegal who could not answer, knocking them out of the tournament with a 3-0 victory.

2018 World Cup’s Golden Boot winner and England Captain Harry Kane ended the first half by decisively doubling the point scored minutes earlier by midfielder Jordan Henderson.

Bukayo Saka delivered the final blow in the 57th minute off a cross from Phil Foden.

Senegal, missing suspended striker Idrissa Gueye and others due to injuries, left their side unable to come together in the face of the dominant English side, despite a notable effort by striker Ismaila Sarr.

With the victory, England goes on to face 2018 Cup champions and cross-channel rivals France at Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday.

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December 4, 2022
Built to disappear: World Cup stadium 974

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DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Of the seven stadiums Qatar built for the World Cup, one will disappear after the tournament.

That’s what the games’ organizers have said about Stadium 974 in Doha — a port-side structure with more than 40,000 seats partially built from recycled shipping containers and steel.

Qatar says the stadium will be fully dismantled after the World Cup and could be shipped to countries that need the infrastructure. Outside experts have praised the design, but say more needs to be known about what happens to the stadium after the event.

“Designing for disassembly is one of the main principles of sustainable building,” said Karim Elgendy, an associate fellow at the London-based Chatham House think tank who previously worked as a climate consultant for the World Cup.

“It allows for the natural restoration of a building site or its reuse for another function,” he said, adding that a number of factors need to considered “before we call a building sustainable.”

Buildings are responsible for nearly 40% of the world’s energy-related carbon emissions. Of that, about 10% comes from “embodied” carbon or the greenhouse gas emissions related to the construction, maintenance and demolition of buildings.

Qatar has faced international criticism for its treatment of low-paid migrant workers who built over $200 billion worth of stadiums, metro lines and other infrastructure for the World Cup. Qatar says the criticism ignores labor reforms enacted in recent years.

Stadium 974, named after Qatar’s international dialing code and the number of containers used to build the stadium, is the only venue that Qatar constructed for the World Cup that isn’t air-conditioned. During a match Friday in which Switzerland defeated Serbia, the air was noticeably more humid and hot than in other venues.

The stadium is hosting only evening matches, when temperatures are cooler.

Fenwick Iribarren Architects, which designed Stadium 974 and two other World Cup stadiums, says the idea was to avoid building a “white elephant,” a stadium that is left unused or underused after the tournament ends, as happened following previous World Cups in South Africa, Brazil and Russia.

Qatar says it has developed plans for the other six stadiums after the games are over. Many will have a number of seats removed.

The multi-colored shipping containers are used as building blocks for Stadium 974 and also to house facilities such as restrooms in the interior of the structure. Like giant Lego blocks, the bright red, yellow and blue corrugated steel boxes appear suspended between layers of steel. The design gives the stadium an industrial feel.

Qatar has not detailed where the dismounted stadium will go after the tournament or even when it will be taken down. Organizers have said the stadium could be repurposed to build a venue of the same size elsewhere or multiple smaller stadiums.

Where its components go matters because of the emissions implicated by shipping them thousands of kilometers away.

Carbon Market Watch, an environmental watchdog group that investigated Qatar’s World Cup sustainability plans, said whether Stadium 974 has a lower carbon footprint than a permanent one comes down to “how many times, and how far, the stadium is transported and reassembled.”

FIFA and Qatar acknowledge that in a report estimating the stadium’s emissions. If the stadium is reused only once, they estimate its emissions would be lower than a permanent one as long as it is shipped fewer than 7,000 kilometers (about 4,350 miles) away.

If it’s repurposed more than once, it could be shipped farther and still be less polluting than a permanent venue, they said, because of how energy-intensive building multiple new stadiums is.

Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, the organizing committee for the World Cup, did not respond to a request for more information about plans after the tournament.

The report also didn’t factor in operational emissions — or those produced from running a building — once the stadium is repurposed because standards vary in different countries, FIFA and Qatar said.

“The energy required for dismantling and shipping the building components will obviously need to be estimated,” Elgendy said, “but it is unlikely to outweigh the carbon embodied in the building materials.”

For now, the stadium’s design isn’t lost on spectators. On any game night, fans entering and leaving the stadium take selfies against its modern, industrial facade. The temporary stadium is hosting seven games in total — with the final one on Monday between Brazil and South Korea.

Jhonarel Miñoza, a 42-year-old Qatari resident originally from the Philippines, said she and her sister wanted to see a game in each of the seven stadiums.

Miñoza, an administrative officer who has lived in Qatar for five years, said she had heard about Stadium 974′s unconventional design before the game she attended on Friday.

“I was really eager to know how they built it,” Miñoza said. “When I came inside here, I was just checking how they did that.”

___

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sport

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December 4, 2022
Pelé responding well to treatment for respiratory infection

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SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian soccer great Pelé is responding well to treatment for a respiratory infection and his health condition has not worsened over the latest 24 hours, the Albert Einstein hospital said Saturday.

The 82-year-old Pelé has been at the hospital since Tuesday.

“I’m strong, with a lot of hope and I follow my treatment as usual. I want to thank the entire medical and nursing team for all the care I have received,” Pelé said in a statement posted on Instagram. “I have a lot of faith in God and every message of love I receive from you all over the world keeps me full of energy. And watch Brazil in the World Cup, too.”

Get well messages have poured in from around the world for the three-time World Cup winner, who is also undergoing cancer treatment. Kely Nascimento, Pelé’s daughter, posted several pictures on Instagram from Brazil fans in Qatar wishing her father well with flags and banners. Buildings in the Middle Eastern nation also displayed messages in support of the former soccer great.

Brazil will face South Korea at the World Cup on Monday in the round of 16.

Pelé helped Brazil win the 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cups and remains the team’s all-time leading scorer with 77 goals in 92 matches.

The Albert Einstein hospital said Friday that Pelé is getting antibiotics to treat an infection at the same time he undergoes chemotherapy against cancer. Pelé, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, had a colon tumor removed in September 2021.

Neither his family nor the hospital has said whether the cancer had spread to other organs.

Newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported Saturday that Pelé’s chemotherapy is not working and that doctors had decided to put him on palliative care. The Associated Press could not confirm that information.

ESPN Brasil reported Wednesday that Pelé was taken to the hospital because of “general swelling.”

___

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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December 4, 2022
AP PHOTOS: Camels a common sight for World Cup visitors

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ByThe Associated Press

December 4, 2022, 3:24 AM

A guard rides his camels outside the Amiri Diwan in Doha, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

The Associated Press

DOHA, Qatar — Two weeks into the first World Cup in the Middle East, fewer teams are at the tournament and some fans are starting to make long journeys home.

But there is still plenty to see and do in Qatar for those who remain.

Camels are a common sight in Doha. In front of Qatari government palace Amiri Diwan, guards ride camels to patrol the area with the city’s glittering skyline as a backdrop.

In a dusty lot on the fringes of the Souq Waqif bazaar in the capital, dozens of camels rest as herders try to draw in tourists for photos with the animals. There’s even a camel beauty pageant called the Mzayen World Cup outside Doha.

Besides camel-watching, the golden sand and warm turquoise waters are a big draw for those who live in colder climates and for the locals.

At Katara Beach in Doha, a group of local men pray with their backs to the coastline. Women sit on swings at a beach in Al Khor in northern Qatar.

At night, fireworks light up the sky near the official fan festival as people watch from across the bay. Tourists can also take a boat trip to admire the sunset over the West Bay skyline in Doha.

———

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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December 4, 2022
World Cup Viewer’s Guide: Americans face the Netherlands

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DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Christian Pulisic became an American star with the winning goal — and the injury he got while scoring it — that lifted the United States into the round of 16 at the World Cup.

He injured his pelvic bone, Pulisic insisted, when he collided with Iran’s goalkeeper on the goal that sent him to the hospital as the United States won 1-0 and advanced in soccer’s biggest tournament.

Pulisic was cleared to play Saturday, when the Americans face the Netherlands in the knockout round.

Everybody expected him to be on the field even before doctors gave him the medical go-ahead on Friday.

“I will do everything in my power to work with this medical team and make sure that I can play,” Pulisic said of his intention to be on the field.

The United States is trying to get to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002 and continue to delight the American audience, which has tuned into the first three matches in record numbers.

A win against the Netherlands might be enough to convince fans back at home that the United States can, indeed, compete on the biggest stage in soccer.

“The support from the U.S. has been a bit surreal,” captain Tyler Adams said. “My dad’s a teacher at school, and they were all watching during their classes, the game and supporting me. And I was getting videos from the family, all the watch parties in my town and whatnot.

“It’s really, really cool to see how much just a tournament can change that perspective on people supporting soccer.”

The United States is winless in its last 11 World Cup games against European teams, a streak that includes five losses and six draws. On Saturday, the Americans face a Dutch squad that, like several other World Cup teams at this tournament, is battling the flu. The bug ran through the U.S. squad last week.

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal gave his team the day off on Thursday instead of running a typical 11-on-11 match.

“I gave them a day of rest,” Van Gaal said Friday. “With this group, they communicate that to me. I listen to my players.”

He declined to elaborate on how many players are affected, but by abandoning the typical training schedule Van Gaal created speculation that at least six players are ill.

“We are not going to elaborate on that,” he said. “But if it goes around in the group, it is worrying.”

Frenkie de Jong has said a scratchy throat disrupted his ability to communicate during a victory over Qatar, and Marten de Roon told reporters he had a cold earlier this week.

Netherlands midfielder Cody Gapko is trying to become the first player from his country to score in four straight World Cup matches, and the Dutch team is on an 18-game winning streak that the United States is determined to snap.

“We felt a responsibility to use this World Cup to create momentum in the United States for soccer,” U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said. “And that’s why we want to keep going and we want to keep doing well and make the country proud.”

AUSTRALIA-ARGENTINA

Lionel Messi goes into yet another match that could be his last on the World Cup stage.

“No one expects us to win,” Australia forward Mathew Leckie said. “So let’s shock the world.”

Argentina was shocked by Saudi Arabia in its opening match and had to beat Poland earlier this week to ensure that Messi could continue in his fifth World Cup. One of the greatest players of all-time has never won this tournament, and this one in Qatar is expected to be his last.

Argentina turned a corner with wins over Mexico and Poland and emerged as the winner of Group C to face Australia, ranked 38th in the world. Australia is in the knockout round for only the second time, its previous trip a 1-0 loss to Italy in 2006.

Argentina won’t take Australia for granted, even though it has five wins, one draw and one loss in eight meetings dating to 1988. This is the first match between the two teams since 2007.

“We know, at the moment, everything is very difficult,” Messi said. “All the opponents are complicated. We know it as well as anyone.”

___

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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December 2, 2022
Cameroon fans celebrate after historic 1-0 victory over Brazil

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They might not have made it through to the next stage of the World Cup tournament but Cameroon’s supporters departed Lusail Stadium in Qatar knowing their team had made history by beating Brazil.

Capping a series of stunning upsets football fans have now become accustomed to at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, Cameroon delivered a shock 1-0 defeat to Brazil on Friday night – the first time an African nation has beaten the Brazilians at the World Cup.

Brazil has won all seven previous meetings with African teams at the World Cup, including beating Cameroon in 1994 and again in 2014.

But the historic victory was not enough for Cameroon to qualify for the next Round of 16 after securing third place in Group G behind Brazil and Switzerland, who defeated Serbia 3-2 in the other final group match on Friday.

“We feel great, don’t you feel great? It is so satisfying. I’m very happy. We finally beat Brazil,” John Epanty, who is from Cameroon, told Al Jazeera after the match.

“Brazil is one of the best teams in the world. If you’re looking for a consolation win, you want this victory,” he said.

Fellow Cameroonian Caleb Williams predicted celebrations would go on all night back in Cameroon.

“They are already drinking and will be till morning,” Williams said. “I mean, we took out Brazil, that’s huge,” he told Al Jazeera.

The winning goal from Vincent Aboubakar came in the closing 92nd minute of the game and apart from bringing victory, it also electrified supporters of the Indomitable Lions at Lusail Stadium who had likely expected the game to end in a draw.

Players in action during the Cameroon vs Brazil, Group G match at the FIFA World Cup 2022, December 2, Lusail Stadium [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

After the match and though few in number, the Cameroon supporters made the very best of the special moment, singing the praise of their team while media cameras swarmed to record the aftermath of the historic win. Brazilian fans joined in the celebrations too, knowing they lost but had already qualified for the next stage which will see them face South Korea on December 5.

Still, the shock of Cameroon’s goal in the dying minutes of the game was too much for some Brazil supporters.

“I don’t feel so good,” Patricia Luze from Sao Paolo told Al Jazeera.

“I was not expecting that goal,” said Luze, who has tickets for the World Cup final and is hoping to see her team compete in that match.

“The final is here and I hope to be here again when we will, by God’s grace, raise the cup again,” she said.

Before kick-off on Friday, the contingent of Cameroonian fans at Lusail were clearly outnumbered by the thousands of Brazil fans who turned Lusail into a sea of yellow and green.

Brazil is seen by many as the greatest footballing nation in the world and the energy of their fans on Friday – decked out in T-shirts, scarves and waving flags – demonstrated how much they love their five-time World Cup winners.

A Brazil football fan during the Cameroon vs Brazil, Group G, FIFA World Cup 2022, on December 2, at Lusail Stadium [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

The victory was “bittersweet”, said Samuel Ngassam from Douala in Cameroon.

“Yes, we beat Brazil. I am proud,” he said.

“But there are many lessons from this we must take,” Ngassam told Al Jazeera while a group of nearby Brazilian fans called him to join them for a short video.

Ngassam said the Cameroon team “should have shown more heart” and that, in their earlier games, it appeared as though they would have settled for draws.

Tonight, however, was not about qualifying for the next round of the World Cup, it was all about Brazil, he said.

“Today we beat Brazil. That’s all that matters,” he added.

“I’ll worry about everything else when I wake up.”

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December 2, 2022
Israeli journalists experience chilly reception at Qatar World Cup | CNN
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Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here.

Jerusalem and Doha
CNN
—

When special direct flights were announced from Tel Aviv to Doha for the FIFA World Cup, the scene at Ben Gurion airport was festive – the company chartering the flight brought out a cake festooned with Qatari and Israeli flags.

But Israeli reporters sent to cover the tournament say they’re experiencing a less than welcoming atmosphere.

Moav Vardi, chief international correspondent for the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation “KAN,” told CNN he was expecting some hostility from Palestinian and Arab fans – but not the level he has experienced in Qatar.

Most Arab fans he tries to interview, Vardi says, will just turn away when they discover he is Israeli even if they had been having a friendly conversation beforehand. But a small and vocal minority is engaging in “violent verbal assaults,” Vardi said.

“You are not welcome here, go away, there is only Palestine, there is no such thing as Israel, Israel does not exist,” Vardi said he’s told almost every day by football fans in Qatar.

Vardi said the impression he has gotten is that the “hatred and resentment” is not just about the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Rather “it’s about the very existence of Israel.”

While he says he hasn’t felt physically threatened, KAN has removed its logo from his microphone, after he was recognized from encounters in Doha that had gone viral on social media.

Former Israeli football star, and now a commentator Eil Ohana posted a video showing a Qatari police officer driving him in a golf cart. After initially getting a shocked reaction from telling the policeman he is Israeli, he says instead that he was joking and that he is actually from Portugal. The police officer says he would have stopped the cart and kicked him off if the commentator was Israeli. When the commentator asked the driver why, he replied, “I’m Palestinian” and goes on to explain that Arabs cannot fly to Israel.

Videos have gone viral in Israel and the Arab world showing football fans yelling at Israeli reporters, refusing to speak to them because of where they are from. Other videos show people hoisting Palestinian flags in the background of Israeli reporters’ live shots, taunting the reporters.

While country flags are generally allowed at matches, clothing or banners with political statements – like LGBTQ rights or those supporting Iranian protesters – have at times led to fans being kicked out of stadiums. But some Arab attendees say the Palestinian cause, which Qatar officially supports, seems to be an exception – in one early match fans held up a giant Palestinian flag with the message “Free Palestine.”

According to sources briefed on the matter, 8,000 Palestinians and 3,800 Israelis applied for World Cup tickets, although thousands more may have entered Qatar on secondary passports.

Israel and Qatar have no diplomatic relations – but under the FIFA rules, Israelis must be allowed to attend the tournament and a small, temporary Israeli consular team is in Doha to assist citizens, who have been advised by the Israeli foreign ministry to keep a low profile.

Omar Barakat, the Palestinian national football team coach, told Reuters in Doha that he was encouraged to take Palestinian flags into matches. He said that he was only allowed by security to take an oversized flag into a stadium on revealing it to be a Palestinian flag. “It’s a political statement, and we’re proud of it,” he said.

On Wednesday, a football fan wearing a Tunisia shirt invaded the pitch with a Palestinian flag during a match between France and Tunisia. When he was apprehended by security personnel, crowds in the stand could be heard chanting “Palestine! Palestine!”

For Farah Hamam, a Palestinian-Jordanian football fan, some Arab fans’ refusal to engage with Israeli journalists reflects the Arab world’s frustration with “the continued atrocities taking place” against the Palestinian people. That was the “real sentiment” toward Israel “despite normalization efforts of Arab governments,” she told CNN.

“For perhaps the first time in history, Arabs around the world are unapologetically showing their lack of patience with Israel,” she said.

Israel in recent years normalized relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, a move that was seen as a major diplomatic feat for the nation and a way out of its regional isolation.

Talal Hizami, a Saudi football fan at the World Cup, linked Arab attitudes toward Israelis in Doha to a pushback against Israel’s recognition by those states. “It’s a rejection of the normalization of Israel in the Middle East…. many Arab citizens see this as a betrayal,” he told CNN.

He said Israeli journalists may have mistakenly assumed that the normalization trend toward Israel in the Arab world “is a reflection of what the people of those nations feel towards them when in reality, many are extremely angered by it.”

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), the tournament organizers, didn’t respond to CNN’s requests for comment on the treatment of Israeli reporters or the display of political symbols at the World Cup.

Reacting to how he says he was treated by Arabs in Doha, Raz Shechnick, a reporter for the Israeli Yediot Ahronoth newspaper, posted a long Twitter thread in Hebrew about his experience, saying “I was always a centrist, liberal and open [with] a will to make peace above all. I always thought the problem was governments, the rulers, ours too. But, in Qatar I came to realize how hatred is present with people on the street. How much they want to wipe us off the face of the earth. To what extent everything related to Israel arouses intense hatred in them.”

Roy Jankelowitz, a correspondent for the IsraelSport website, said he has not had as many problems in Doha but that he does not “go around walking with a microphone in Hebrew.”

“As an Israeli, I understand that there may be a problem over here for people to accept that Israelis are here because of the fact that they do not know much about Israel. All they see is what the media, the local Arab media reports to them about Israel,” he told CNN. “All they see is, when they see something in Hebrew they think it is something bad.”

Jankelowitz said he’s taken the Israeli Foreign Ministry advice to all Israeli attendees to keep a low profile and does not necessarily tell fans he is from Israel unless he feels it is safe to do so.

“You have to understand that you’re in an Arab country and not everybody likes you,” he said.

But not all Arabs in Doha agree that the football tournament is an appropriate place to show support for Palestinians. Munser Al Shibly a fan from Libya at the World Cup, told CNN it was “nice” to see fans support Palestinians but added that football should be “separate from politics… even if it’s the Palestinian cause.”

Vardi, the Israeli KAN reporter, said despite some hostility, he’s also had some fascinating interactions – like after being recognized while watching a match and being told to “go away” by one fan, a different fan from Saudi Arabia sitting near him turned and said, “Oh Israel? Why don’t you get rid of Iran for us please.”

With additional reporting by Nadeen Ebrahim, Celine Alkhaldi, Zeena Saifi and Mariam Dirar Alqasem.

Iranian security forces kill anti-government protester celebrating World Cup defeat, rights group says

A man is reported to have been killed by security forces in northern Iran during public celebrations by anti-government protesters following the national football team’s defeat against the United States on Tuesday.
Background: Several videos were posted on social media Tuesday night showing people in cities across Iran, including in the capital Tehran, celebrating inside their homes and residential buildings after the US defeated Iran 1-0 in the World Cup. Demonstrations have rocked Iran for more than two months, sparking a deadly clampdown by authorities.

Why it matters: Football has become the latest arena for pro- and anti-regime Iranians to express their views. A source told CNN earlier that the families of Iran’s team had been threatened with imprisonment and torture if players failed to “behave” after they refrained from singing the country’s national anthem in an earlier game. Some Iranian activists had accused the players of whitewashing the government’s crimes.
US tells Turkey it opposes new military operation in Syria

United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Turkish counterpart Wednesday that his country strongly opposes a new military operation in Syria and that he was concerned about Turkish airstrikes that threatened US personnel in the region.
Background: On Tuesday, the Pentagon said the US has reduced the number of patrols with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against ISIS in Syria as the SDF has said an invasion by Turkey seems “imminent.” It said the US has not redeployed forces in the region and has “no diminished capability” in the region.

Why it matters: Turkey has been warning for months about a potential incursion into Syria targeting Kurdish groups it opposes there. Both Russia and the US have stakes in the country. Last week, a Turkish airstrike against a base in northern Syria used by the US-led coalition to defeat ISIS threatened the safety of US personnel working in the area. The US has approximately 900 troops in Syria.
ISIS acknowledges the death of its leader, announces his successor

ISIS affiliate al-Furqan media published an audio message by the jihadist group’s spokesman announcing the death of its leader, who was appointed in March. It didn’t make clear who killed the group commander or where. ISIS announced his successor, who goes by the name Abu al-Husain al-Husaini al-Quraishi. Little is known about him, but the group described him as an “old fighter” without providing further details. Syria’s army took credit for his killing, Reuters cited state media as saying.
Background: The deceased leader was appointed by ISIS in March 2022 after US President Joe Biden announced the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in a military operation in the northwest of Syria.

Why it matters: Analysts have said that ISIS is in disarray. If the Syrian regime’s claims are true, the killing would a rare occasion where a top ISIS leader has been killed in a non-US-led operation.
Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad Al Kaabi told CNN’s Becky Anderson on Wednesday the country will not let politics affect business after it signed a deal to provide Germany with 2 million tons of LNG annually, starting in 2026.

This comes amid heightened tensions with Germany, which ramped up its criticism of Qatar ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, questioning its human rights record and later opposing the Gulf country’s ban on the rainbow-colored armband.

Watch the interview here:

Football isn’t the only story in Qatar, there’s big news off the pitch too. I spoke to the energy minister and CEO of @qatarenergy Saad AlKaabi about Qatar’s pivotal role in the global energy market. pic.twitter.com/vKA0tSNAr6

— Becky Anderson (@BeckyCNN) November 30, 2022

After Tunisia beat France in a stunning 1-0 victory on Wednesday, Morocco on Thursday beat Canada 2-1, becoming the only Arab nation to reach the knockout rounds. Saudi Arabia, which galvanized Arab audiences with its early win against Argentina, was knocked out of the tournament after losing against Mexico on Wednesday.
Canadian pop star Justin Bieber launched clean water company Generosity at Qatar’s World Cup, to provide premium alkaline water in refillable fountains across the globe.

The pitch invader who waved a rainbow flag on the field during Portugal’s World Cup match with Uruguay on Monday said FIFA president Gianni Infantino came to the Qatari police station to free him in order to “avoid more controversy.”

Thursday’s Group E FIFA World Cup match between Costa Rica and Germany saw an all-women refereeing team for the first time in men’s World Cup history. Stephanie Frappart, from France, led the refereeing team, making her the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match.
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December 2, 2022
Uvalde officials file suit for access to school shooting records: CBS News Flash Dec. 2, 2022

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Uvalde officials file suit for access to school shooting records: CBS News Flash Dec. 2, 2022 – CBS News

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The city of Uvalde, Texas has filed a lawsuit demanding the district attorney turn over investigative materials from the Robb Elementary School shooting. Former President Barack Obama visited Georgia to campaign for Senator Raphael Warnock in his runoff election battle with Herschel Walker. And a Frenchwoman has made history in Qatar as the first female to referee a men’s World Cup match.

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December 2, 2022
Japan beats Spain 2-1 as both teams advance at World Cup

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DOHA, Qatar — Same stadium. Same result. Similar shocking victory for Japan at the World Cup.

After beating Germany in the team’s opener, Japan worked its way into the round of 16 of the World Cup on Thursday by defeating Spain 2-1 — the same score as last week.

Spain also advanced despite the loss, knocking Germany out of the tournament.

Japan scored twice early in the second half to come from behind and defeat another European powerhouse and make it to the knockout stage for the second straight World Cup. It’s the first time Japan has advanced past the group stage in back-to-back tournaments.

“For Asia and for Japan, our victories over Spain and Germany, two of the top teams in the world, is something that give us great confidence and we are very pleased,” Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said. “Of course, there are many things we still have to learn, but Asia can win in the world stage, Japan can win in the world stage.”

Ao Tanaka scored the winning goal from close range early in the second half. It took about two minutes for video review officials to confirm the ball hadn’t gone out of bounds before the goal at Khalifa International Stadium, where Japan had shocked Germany in its opener.

Players from both teams looked surprised when it was announced that the goal counted, and the Japanese started running toward their bench again to celebrate with their teammates.

“From my angle I think the ball was clearly half out, but more than that I could not see because of the speed,” Tanaka said. “I was concentrating in scoring. There was always a possibility that it was out … But in the end it was a goal, so that was great.”

Japan finished at the top of Group E and will next face Croatia. Spain will take on Group F winner Morocco.

Spain and Germany — which beat Costa Rica 4-2 in a simultaneous match — both had four points in the group. But Spain had a superior goal difference.

The group standings bounced back and forth during both matches. Costa Rica was beating Germany at one point. If that result had stood, Costa Rica would have eliminated Spain.

Spain coach Luis Enrique said he didn’t know that at one point Costa Rica was winning.

“If I had known about it, I could have had a heart attack,” he said.

Álvaro Morata scored for Spain in the 11th minute and the 2010 champions were in control until Japan rallied after halftime. Ritsu Doan equalized in the 48th with a left-footed shot from outside the box and Tanaka added the second three minutes later.

Luis Enrique said Spain “got into collapse mode.”

“We totally lost control during those five minutes. We panicked,” Luis Enrique said. “If they had to score more goals, they would have been able to do it. They got past us like an airplane.”

Morata became the first Spain player to score in the team’s first three matches at the World Cup since Telmo Zarra in 1950.

Spain had opened with a 7-0 rout of Costa Rica before conceding late in a 1-1 draw against Germany.

Japan, which lost to Costa Rica in its second match, was eliminated by Belgium in the last 16 four years ago in Russia. The Japanese have never gotten past the round of 16 at the World Cup.

By finishing second in the group, Spain may avoid facing Brazil in the quarterfinals and Argentina in the semifinals.

“There is nothing to celebrate,” Luis Enrique said. “I’m not happy. We wanted to finish in first place with a victory.”

The coach said he was surprised that the second goal by Japan was confirmed by VAR. He said he was shown a photo of the ball out of bounds.

“That photo they showed me must have been altered,” Luis Enrique said. “That’s the only explanation.”

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Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni

———

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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December 1, 2022