"Put yourself in the shoes of the referee"
FIFA President Gianni Infantino appealed to the fans and players for a more tolerant attitude towards referees during the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.
A group of 129 referees will work at the tournament, which the Italian functionary called "the number one team."
According to him, if there were no judges, the World Cup simply would not have taken place.
“I am a fan just like anyone else, and just like everyone else, I get upset when a mistake happens or when I simply do not agree with the referee’s decision, because I support a certain team.
I ask everyone just for a moment to try to put themselves in the place of the referee - (imagine) that you are on the field in front of 80,000 people who came to the stadium, and several hundred million more are watching the broadcast on TV, and you need to make instant decisions that can affect entire countries,” said Infantino.
He stressed that he is fully confident in each of the referees involved in this tournament.
The opening match of the World Cup with the participation of the hosts of the tournament and the national team of Ecuador will be officiated by Italian referee Daniele Orsato.
At the last championship, which was held in Russia in 2018, the Italian was responsible for official video replays, in 2020 he judged the Champions League final, and a year later he played three matches during the European Championship.
Italian referees enjoy a high level of confidence in the international federation: they have won two of the last five World Cup finals.
Pierluigi Collina, now head of FIFA's refereeing committee, worked on the decisive match in 2002, and Nicola Rizzoli in 2014.
Brazil is the top favorite according to Goal
One of the largest football sites in the world, Goal, has published its own version of the ranking of contenders for victory in the World Cup.
The first line in it was taken by the Brazilian national team, the top 3 also included Argentina and Germany.
Next are Spain, France, England, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Croatia.
The Portuguese, on the other hand, were somewhat unexpectedly out of the top ten, although in the previous version of September 29 they were in 10th place.
Perhaps the vicissitudes of Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United played a role in this.
In Brazil, everyone, young and old, is waiting for the sixth title from their team.
The President of the country, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, known by the nickname Lula, did not stand aside either.
“After 20 years (after the previous victory - RT ), I think it's time for Brazil to become world champion again.
Other teams are not so good.
Cristiano Ronaldo plays differently than before.
So I really hope,” wrote the politician on Twitter.
Special hopes, as in previous years, are placed on the star player of Selesao - Neymar.
According to PSG defender Marquinhos, the 30-year-old striker is calm about the increased pressure and expectations and is as serious as possible in the fight for the title.
“Neymar arrived at the national team in excellent physical condition.
I know how focused he is on the tournament, how much he prepared and how he sacrificed everyday life for the sake of the championship, ”the L’Equipe footballer quotes.
Englishmen and unicorns
Footballers of the England national team after the World Cup held in Russia are now inextricably linked with the image of the unicorn.
Many people remember how in 2018, between games, the players organized races on large inflatable toys with rainbow manes and tails in the pool of a club hotel in Repino.
What was the surprise of the players from Foggy Albion when, having checked into a hotel in Qatar, they found their photographs on the walls - including one of those pictures with unicorns depicting Bukayo Saka.
“I laughed when I first saw her, but, in fact, it’s so cute,” admitted the player.
And his teammate Jack Grealish said that this year waiting for some other inflatable toy.
“We need to move on,” the midfielder joked.
While the team's management did not come up with new fun entertainment for their wards, the players got acquainted with the opportunities that the host country of the tournament opens up.
Grealish, for example, has already managed to ride a camel, and this experience made an indelible impression on the football player.
“I got on his back.
He stood up to his full height, and I was so high off the ground that I was frightened.
I didn't think he would lift me that high because I had no idea how big he was.
And when he got up, it turned out that he was huge, ”the athlete said with a laugh.
Meanwhile, judging by the first shots from the camp of the English team, the team in Qatar will definitely spend a lot of time on all kinds of water procedures.
Discussions about captain's armbands
The topic of LGBT does not leave the pages of the sports press on the eve of the World Cup.
A lot of time devoted to her in his Saturday speech and the head of FIFA, Gianni Infantino.
He once again assured everyone that representatives of non-traditional sexual orientation are not in danger in Qatar, and the federation keeps abreast of all events related to this issue.
Unexpectedly, right within the framework of the press conference of the Italian functionary, the coming-out was made by the director of public relations of FIFA, Brian Swanson.
“I can say with confidence that FIFA cares about every person.
We have a large number of gays in our organization.
I respect the opinion of everyone who is in this room, but I am confident in our convictions, ”Match TV quotes Swanson.
At the same time, discussions continue among the participating teams regarding the proposal for captains to go to matches with the One Love armband in protest against all types of discrimination.
Not all players support this action, for example, the Frenchman Hugo Lloris.
He is sure that when coming to another country, one must respect its laws and traditions.
And the Englishman Harry Kane and the German Manuel Neuer, on the contrary, are determined to challenge FIFA.
Teams may be penalized for symbols not approved by the organization.
The International Federation, in an attempt to alleviate the situation, proposed an alternative.
According to L'Equipe, it is proposed to dedicate each game day to a specific social problem and place appropriate slogans on the captain's armbands.
Among them, for example, "Football Unites the World", "Save the Planet", "Protect Children", "Education for All" and others.
Millions of likes for the greats
Two outstanding football players of our time, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, took part in an advertising campaign together for the first time.
On Saturday, both players posted on their social networks a picture in which they play chess with each other.
They starred in an ad for Louis Vuitton suitcases.
Behind one of them they sit like a chessboard.
“Winning is a state of mind,” the caption reads.
The author of the photo shoot is the famous American photographer Annie Leibovitz.
In just an hour since their appearance, the posts have collected almost 15 million likes for two: more than 5 million for Messi and more than 9 million for Ronaldo.
Ice shows in the Qatari heat
Aleksey Sorokin, consultant of the organizing committee for the preparation of the 2022 World Cup, said that an ice rink will be organized at one of the fan zones in Doha, where Russian figure skaters will perform.
“Several fan zones have been organized, including one called Hayya, where ice will be installed and, we hope, Russian figure skaters will also perform.
I cannot name names, but the organizers will announce them in the near future.
These will be big names, ”Match TV quotes Sorokin.
According to media reports, two ice shows by Tatyana Navka will take place in Qatar - "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty".
Both in that and in another production, the Lithuanian figure skater Margarita Drobyazko, who acted in tandem with Povilas Vanagas, was involved.
She said that all the participants are looking forward to the upcoming performances.
“It's great that such an opportunity has arisen, especially given the international situation and the rejection of Russian culture and sports.
Very cool!
We hope that everything will go smoothly and there will be many spectators, including Russian ones, who came to the World Cup, ”said the skater.
Current domestic athletes, who are now performing at the stages of the Grand Prix, also do not stand aside from the grandiose event.
So, Dmitry Kozlovsky plans to follow the course of the tournament.
“Of course, this is an interesting event, it takes place every four years.
Who am I rooting for?
I would like either Ronaldo or Messi to take their World Cup, ”the Championship quotes the words of the athlete.
But the former president of the RFU, Vyacheslav Koloskov, will be able to personally observe both the competition of the best football players and the performance of domestic figure skaters - he received an invitation to Qatar as an honorary member of FIFA.
“I won’t hurt anyone.
Hopefully I'll just enjoy the game and the atmosphere.
I will feel nostalgic for the World Cup in Russia, ”said the specialist.