Infantino's request

There are 10 days left before the start of the World Cup in Qatar, and serious passions boil around it.

A lot of attention is paid to the behavior of fans in a country known for strict moral customs and laws.

In particular, fans are concerned about possible infringement of the rights of members of the LGBT community.

In this regard, a wave of indignation was caused by the phrase of the tournament ambassador and former Qatar national team player Khalid Salman.

In an interview for the German TV channel ZDF, he stated that fans coming to Qatar must accept the rules of the host country, and called the demonstration of non-traditional sexual orientation a sin.

“I am not a true Muslim, but (you ask) why is it haraam?

Because it is damage to the mind, ”said the ex-footballer.

A number of participating team captains, including England's Harry Kane, are planning to wear rainbow heart armbands during the tournament in support of minorities that rights groups claim are discriminated against under Qatari law.

English football player Lotte Wubben-Moy said in turn that the players should use every opportunity to express their position.

“I believe that sport provides a huge opportunity for change, and in any way they can, they can use this opportunity to bring about change.

It seems to me that this is important, ”the Eurosport athlete quotes.

At the same time, FIFA strongly opposes any attempts to use the World Cup for any demonstrations.

The president of the organization, Gianni Infantino, even sent a letter to all 32 teams with a corresponding appeal.

“We know that football does not exist in a vacuum.

We equally understand that the world is full of political challenges and difficulties.

But let's not drag football into every ideological or political dispute."

He stressed that FIFA is trying to respect all beliefs and opinions, not trying to teach moral lessons all over the planet.

“One of the strengths of our world is its very diversity.

No people, no culture or nation can be "better" than any other.

This principle underlies mutual respect and non-discrimination.

And this is also one of the basic values ​​of football.

So let's please keep this in mind and let football come first," said Infantino.

In turn, the secretary general of the organization, Fatma Samura, assured that any guests would be welcome in Qatar, regardless of their "race, religion, social and sexual orientation."

“People may consider Qatari society to be conservative, like in my home country, Senegal.

But let me tell you one thing: the Qataris are the most hospitable people you can find on earth... When you walk along the Corniche, you will see something that you have never seen before.

You will see magic, light, smiles.

After two years of the coronavirus pandemic and many challenges in the world today, this World Cup offers a unique opportunity to bring us all together,” said Samura.

Ball with World Cup in Russia

Meanwhile, no matter how much officials talk about the equality of countries, the policy of canceling Russia continues in international sports structures.

One of the latest absurd examples is the selection of recent World Cup balls available in the FIFA23 simulator, where the 2018 tournament is ignored.

The picture was published in the official accounts of the developer of sports video games EA Sports and the manufacturer of sports equipment Adidas.

This act angered many social media users and football experts in Russia.

So, according to Evgeny Lovchev, in this way the organizations only demonstrated their own inadequacy.

“This is a total lunatic!

We were brought up that sport is out of politics, and they, apparently, that sport is the main policy.

On the one hand, it is funny, but bitter that the world has changed.

What to say about this ball.

Well, idiocy, shame on them all really!

After all, (Gianni) Infantino, with our support, became the president of FIFA, and then said that Russia held the best World Cup ... ”- the Match TV specialist quotes.

The press service of the Russian national team responded to the post on Twitter by posting a similar picture, in which the 2018 World Cup ball is present.

“Fixed,” the post was laconically signed.

For whom to root for the Russians

Russian fans, of course, are upset that the domestic team was left out of the largest football tournament, but you still shouldn’t deprive yourself of the pleasure of watching, especially since there will be someone to root for at the World Cup.

Thus, the representative office of Rossotrudnichestvo - the Russian Center for Science and Culture (RCSC) "Russian House in Belgrade" - called for support for the Serbian national team at the World Cup.

“The World Cup will start very soon.

The Russian national team will not play in Qatar for well-known reasons, but the national team will perform at the tournament, where the vast majority of the people traditionally support our country even in the most difficult times.

Russian House in Belgrade is confident that millions of Russian fans know who to root for at the upcoming World Cup.

One colors!

One Faith!

Cheer for ours!

Cheer for the Serbs!”

- the organization said in a message published on social networks in Russian and Serbian.

In addition, at least one player with a Russian passport will go to Qatar - midfielder of the Cameroon national team Gael Ondua.

The footballer, although born in Africa, spent his childhood in Russia, as his father worked at the embassy.

Gael was brought up at the Lokomotiv school, played for the youth team of CSKA, and in the RPL for Anji.

This season he spends in the German "Hannover".

Ondua speaks excellent Russian and runs a Telegram channel called "Green Lion".

After receiving the message about the inclusion in the final application of Cameroon for the World Cup, Gael published an emotional post.

He admitted that he jumps for happiness, like a child.

“The World Cup is my dream.

What I have been striving for for years.

This is a great honor and a great responsibility.

Including before you, dear fans.

You have always supported me.

Wrote nice words.

And they believed in me.

Thank you very much again!

I was waiting for the call to the national team so much that all my thoughts were only about him.

He even grew an unusual beard for himself - it was not so much before.

Hooray!

Dreams come true,” wrote the player.

In addition, the athlete said that in Qatar he would represent not only Cameroon, but also Russia.

“I always speak openly: Russia is my home, I have a Russian document.

And it’s also good that I can represent the Russian people at such a big tournament, ”RB Sport quotes Ondua as saying.

Passion for Manet

But the fans of the Senegal national team were not ready to accept the fact that the World Cup will take place without the leader of their team, Sadio Mane.

The Bayern forward suffered an injury to the fibula of his right leg in the German championship match against Werder Bremen.

The severity of the injury is not yet known, but it is assumed that he will not be able to compete in Qatar.

Upon learning of this, Senegalese fans created a petition on a popular civic initiative platform demanding that the 2022 World Cup be postponed.

"Africa's best player Sadio Mane is injured so we have to postpone the World Cup for him!"

- the authors said in a statement on Change.org.

Ready in Senegal to resort to no less extravagant measures to return the star player to the ranks as soon as possible.

According to FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura, for this, the team is ready to turn to the services of local shamans.

She found it difficult to assess the effectiveness of this kind of treatment, but stressed that all fans of the team can only hope for a miracle.

However, according to rumors, Mane will be included in the final application of the national team one way or another, probably in the hope of a speedy recovery.