Five years ago, in a sad foreshadowing of what was to come, I attended a World Cup qualifier behind closed doors at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in the suddenly famous southern suburbs of Beirut.
Lebanon were playing North Korea, and though it was late 2019 and some months before the covid pandemic would make empty stadiums the new normal, the ground was silent for an entirely different reason, save for some police, the extended squads of each team, and a smattering of press.
November 2019 was about one month into what became known in Beirut as the “Peoples Protest,” or “Thawra” (pronounced “samhradh,” like the Irish word for summer), a largely peaceful uprising that was triggered by widespread discontent at how the country was being run (or not, in this case).
The protests began as an expression of positive dissent, the city streets filled, day after day and night after night, with young families and students and an educated class of people that had previously been marginalised and alienated by sectarian divides. Though little violence permeated the protests, FIFA got nervous, and demanded the doors be shut.
It was probably just as well, as it was a goalless draw, and had the crowds been left in, they might’ve rioted, if only because it would’ve given them something to do. While the home draw against North Korea was not fatal to Lebanon’s chances of qualification for Qatar, they ultimately failed to do so.
That campaign — full of early promise — petered out much like the thawra that briefly breathed life into a country crippled by perpetual political chaos and economic entropy. Football and basketball are massive sports in Lebanon, but like many things in the country, institutional dysfunction stymies growth of the domestic game.
Earlier this summer, they failed to progress from the first round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, finishing third behind Australia (a country with a huge Lebanese diaspora) and — most remarkably — Palestine, a country whose population is exiled and displaced to the tune of hundreds of thousands in Lebanon.
While FIFA cannot be directly blamed for Lebanon’s on-field failings, the longer the governing body refuses to act in sanctioning the country that’s currently invading and bombing Lebanon, as well as committing a year-long genocide on the Palestinian people, the more morally bankrupt it becomes. The same is true of all major sporting bodies.
The IOC already played the coward by doing nothing in advance of the Paris Olympics, adopting a strategy of turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the many calls for Israel to be boycotted. In the end, Israel used the summer games, not just as a flag waving exercise, but as a distraction.
While the world’s eyes were diverted towards the Stade de France in Saint-Denis through August, the IDF committed some of its worst atrocities of its year-long slaughter in Gaza.
You’d have to guess, then, that far from being a triumph of an embattled underdog, Palestine’s participation in the current round of Asian qualification is a pebble in the expensively leathered shoe of FIFA, highlighting, as it does, the gross hypocrisy of the selective moralising of Gianni Infantino and his cabinet.
Writing for the non-profit news organisation Truthout, Abdullah Al-Arian expertly explains: “The recent mass bombing campaign and invasion of Lebanon means that Israel has now become responsible for the indefinite suspension of two national soccer leagues while its own teams continue to compete domestically and internationally with no repercussions.”
Famously, FIFA suspended Russia within days of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, but has shown none of the same gusto in addressing any sanctions on Israel, again deferring a ruling on the matter as recently as October 3.
The explanation for this deferral is laughable, as it appointed a committee to investigate the Palestinian FAs allegations that Israel’s league operates in occupied Palestine. They might as well be investigating whether today is Monday.
The clubs are operating in occupied Palestine, and the fact the Palestinian FA have had to lodge a complaint about it only points to the contempt with which FIFA holds them. Why, you may ask?
Well, as Prof. Al-Arian explains, if you really want the truth, just follow the money: “Given FIFA’s history of financial corruption and selective embrace of political appeals, it seems unlikely to take action against Israel, particularly at a time when FIFA officials are desperately seeking corporate sponsors and broadcasting partners for the Club World Cup, to be held in the United States next summer.”
How depressing that the beautiful game is hijacked by such moral abdication. The only thing to do is root for Palestine.
So, Rafa Nadal has followed Andy Murray and Roger Federer, hung up his racquet and taken his talents to the Philippe-Chatrier in the sky. At his best, he was a compelling combination of brute force and balletic poise. At his worst was injured and absent.
The announcement of his retirement was greeted with unanimous praise of a warrior who clocked up an astonishing 22 Grand Slam titles, including a record-breaking 14 French Opens, which, one might think, would guarantee the Spaniard the freedom to graze his sheep up les Champs-Elysées, alas, Nadal is not as loved in France as he is elsewhere.
His last title at Roland Garros in 2022 came despite him being plagued by an injury which left him with little feeling in his left foot. Nadal defied the odds, beating Casper Ruud in straight sets in the final.
French cyclists Guillaume Martin and Thibaut Pinot later accused the star of doping, saying that a similar practice was not allowed in cycling. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Spanish Society of Sports Medicine responded by confirming the anesthetic injections were neither on the list of prohibited substances nor banned in cycling by the International Cycling Union.
Following his England side’s unexpected loss to Greece, might Lee Carsley come back knocking at the FAI’s door once his interim manager’s role ends? Unlikely, though, the speed at which the mood music changed around him will be a timely lesson that the job he tenuously holds is a poisoned chalice, whatever the talent at his disposal.
A month ago, he began his honeymoon period basking in praise from a press and public who hailed him as the next Lionel Scolari, coming through the FA ranks, devoid of the preciousness more experienced managers may possess.
Since Greece, he has become the one thing no England fan ever wants their gaffer to be: Irish. Thankfully for him, he has Finland up next, though the headline writers at the red tops will be licking their lips hoping to drop some of the greatest headlines ever written.
Aaron Rogers, widely regarded as one of the most talented quarterbacks of a generation that includes Tom Brady, has for some time now proven to be kryptonite for head coaches. Far from maturing with age, his personality has evolved from misunderstood free-thinker, to conspiracy theorist.
That wouldn’t really matter to New York Jets fans if he could just get it together on the field.
Last week, after an ok-ish 2-3 start, Jets owner Woody Johnson fired his head coach Robert Salah. By any standard, it was a hasty firing, and one that many commentators were quick to blame on Rogers, who, unsurprisingly, was having none of it.
Whatever you believe, the heretofore terrible Jets are watchable again, even if it’s just for the drama. Stay tuned.
