– He is football’s Trump

The day before the World Cup kick-off in Qatar, FIFA president Gianni Infantino gave a speech that made headlines around the world.

In a long monologue, Infantino launched a scathing attack on the critics of the World Cup in Qatar.

I feel like a Qatari. I feel Arab. I feel African. I feel gay. I feel handicapped. I feel like a migrant worker

So continued the FIFA president, until he emphasized that he was not all the things he mentioned. The point of the speech was to explain to Western journalists that Europeans must sweep their own doors before criticizing others.

Infantino’s speech made big headlines around the world, but for the Arabs it put into words exactly what they feel.

– The criticism against FIFA is well-founded and important. That undemocratic Qatar was awarded the World Cup in football is precisely symptomatic of the corruption that characterizes the entire organization, says Berit von der Lippe, professor of political rhetoric.

But she has a certain understanding that many Arabs may experience the media coverage of the World Cup as one-sided.

– Someone other than Infantino should speak their case. It is completely absurd for someone who represents FIFA power and corruption to speak out in that way. He tries to speak for the Arabs, but for us Westerners he is a man who completely lacks any trust, says von der Lippe.

During his speech, the FIFA president accused European critics of being racist and hypocritical.

But FIFA itself has had a number of scandals. When the World Cup was awarded to Qatar, 22 FIFA leaders decided that the country should receive the championship. 16 of them have since been charged or convicted of corruption, and after the award have been banned from FIFA.

– Infantino ridicules himself with a lack of insight. He is a hypocrite who tells others about human rights, von der Lippe believes.

– I would say that he is football’s Donald Trump, she adds.

One-sided coverage

In the run-up to the championship, Western media coverage has been dominated by the controversies surrounding the event rather than the sport. A number of Western media houses have also refrained from televising the opening ceremony.

Someone who is also critical of the media coverage in Europe is the Dubai-based media expert Sami Tabchouri. He has over 15 years’ experience with the largest regional and international media houses.

– There is a striking contrast between western media and the local media coverage of the WC. While western media look critically at the region, the local media celebrate, he says.

He believes there is a certain stereotype that is created by the Western media about the Middle East and people in the region.

– This was supposed to be the moment when we were to be visited by the whole world. We were supposed to counteract the stereotypes, show our kindness and hospitality, but everything drowns in the criticism, says Tabchouri.

Among other things, Tabchouri has read some of the articles that TV 2 has published in connection with the championship. He believes there is a lot of good and important journalism, but misses a clearer nuance.

– In the Middle East, we have really experienced how few differences are needed to separate people, local communities and countries. Football is when the whole world comes together despite their differences, he says.

– People want to watch football

Tabchouri has also carried out a number of media analyzes for the region. There, he has seen trends that indicate that people are tired of consuming negative content, especially after the corona pandemic.

– You will always find what you are looking for. If you look for the negative, you will find the negative. But the opposite is also true! If you want to be positive, you will find many inspiring stories here in the region, he says.

He believes that there are many cases in the region that speak in favor of diversity.

– Is it easier for us to cover the regions critically?

– Not really. We are a complex region, with over 500 million people across two continents. We are talking about a diversity of languages, cultures and beliefs. The only way to cover the region is to come and live among the people and understand this diversity, he explains.

Understand the criticism

Berit von der Lippe can understand some of the criticism.

– There is no definitive answer as to how to cover the championship. We are good at applauding our own democratic complacency, she says.

She believes that we forget that it is not the ordinary Arab or Muslim who gets rich from this championship, but that it is for them that it means the most.

Von der Lippe also misses criticism of the Norwegian business community’s investments in Qatar.

– This criticism is rarely discussed. Up until now, they have gotten away with this type of debate, she says.