Former French & Manchester U Football Star Eric Cantona Says That He Will Not Watch or Follow Qatar World Cup This Year

Yesterday, I posted about how human right abuses were kind of casting a very dark shadow over the World Cup that Qatar is about to host next month.

These news stories are not new, nor have they been hidden. 

Well, former French and Manchester United football star Eric Cantona has spoken out, loud and clearly, about this controversy. And he left no doubts about what his own position is regarding the upcoming World Cup to be hosted in Qatar.

And he is not elaborating on who he thinks will win, or which stars will shine the brightest. Quite the opposite, in fact. 

Let's take a look at what Cantona had to say:

 'To be honest, I don't really care about the next World Cup, which is not a real World Cup for me. In the last decades, you had a lot of events like the Olympic Games or World Cups in countries that are emerging - like in Russia or China.   

'But Qatar - it's not the country of football. I'm not against the idea of hosting a World Cup in a country where there is a possibility to develop and promote football, like in South Africa or the United States in the 90's.   

'Football is the most popular feminine sport in the United States, there is a lot of South American immigration, and a big potential for the sport to develop. 

 'In fact, now in the United States, the sport which has the most licensed people is football. But in Qatar, the truth is that there is no such potential. There is nothing. It's only about money I think.   

'It's only about money and the way they treated the people who built the stadiums, it's horrible. And thousands of people died. And yet we will celebrate this World Cup.'  

Cantona thinks the essence of football is that it is a meritocracy but sees no signs of that in Qatari society.   

He went on:

 'Personally, I will not watch it. I understand football is a business. But I thought it was the only place where everybody could have a chance.  

'And I still think that young players can grow up in a very poor area - most players come from poor areas. And they become footballers and have a chance to save themselves and save their family which is great. And if you are good, you are good. It's a meritocracy - if you're better than the next guy, you will play and it's fair.  

'So it's why, maybe, if meritocracy and potential is the essence of football, it's even more surprising that we can organize a World Cup in Qatar, and people actually voted for that.'

There has been a fatal price to pay for a huge number of workers preparing Qatar to host this winter.    

Thousands of migrant workers are alleged to have perished in the Middle Eastern country as it has fashioned cities, roads and stadiums out of the desert sand.  

The workers believe their friends' deaths have resulted from being forced to toil too long under the burning sun without shade, breaks and water in temperatures exceeding 40C for just £8.30 a day.   

FIFA are anticipated to bank more than £3billion from football's showpiece event.   

England players are meeting with human rights groups in March to decide their position on the tournament and other countries such as Norway and Germany have worn protest T-shirts before matches. 

The debacle is at odds with the rich football experience that can be had around the world at club level, one that Cantona is now leading supporters on.   

Four-day trips to iconic clubs such as Boca Juniors, Barcelona, PSG and Casablanca are curated by the Frenchman, partnered with Dharma, and leads fans on experiences culminating in watching a match.   

He said: 'If you are a Manchester United fan, watching a game at Old Trafford is a dream. But that’s only one part of the story - have you heard of FC United and what they stand for?  

'Do you know the chants of Stretford End? Beyond its artistic beauty, do you know the significance of the Marcus Rashford mural to the local community?  

 'This is the essence of football, whether you are in Liverpool, Buenos Aires, or Casablanca.'  

The trips work in conjunction with Common Goal, donating 1% of revenue to supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Initiative. 

Looking FC, launched by Eric Cantona in partnership with travel startup Dharma, is a collection of football trips for passionate football fans to experience the world and its cities through its football communities. For more information visit www.lookingfc.com  

Here is some of what he said in French, which seemed worth sharing here:

Eric Cantona  Moi, l’amoureux de foot, à contre coeur, j’ai pris ma décision, je vais le suivre, lui et d’autres personnalités comme Philipp lahm, Vincent Lindon et j’en passe.  Je ne regarderai pas un seul match de cette coupe du monde. Ça me coûte parce que depuis que je suis gosse c’est un évènement que j’adore, que j’attends et que je regarde avec passion!

Mais soyons hônnètes avec nous mêmes! Cette coupe du monde là n’à aucun sens!  Pire c’est une abberation! Déjà parce que le qatar n’est pas un pays de foot! Aucune ferveur, aucune saveur. Une abberation écologique, avec tous ces stades climatisés…  quelle folie, quelle stupidité! Mais surtout, surtout, une horreur humaine… combien de millier de morts, pour construire ces stades, pour au final quoi, amuser la galerie 2 mois… et tout le monde s’en fout… La caricature même de ce que l’homme est capable de porter en lui comme saloperie extrême! Le seul sens de cet évènement, on le sait tous, c’est le pognon.  Il est plus fort que tout… business is business… le reste… J’ai pris ma décision!  Je ne regarderai pas!  Arfff je sais bien qu’ils s’en foutent et que ma petite personne ne changera pas la face du monde. Mais moi personnellement, je n’ai juste pas envie de participer à cette grande mascarade.  Et faire gagner de l’argent à ceux qui ferment les yeux et se cachent derrière leur petit doigt en disant c’est pas de notre ressort on peut rien faire…   Etats, fédérations, diffuseurs, annonceurs etc etc.  Si tu peux faire, il suffit juste de prendre une décision simple. Dire nous on joue pas, dire nous on diffuse pas, nous on fait pas de pub etc etc.  C’est tout à fait faisable.  Parfois dans la vie, il faut prendre des décisions, même si ça nous coûte. Mais tous ces gens là ne l’ont pas prise… encore une fois, le pognon est plus fort que tout. Donc moi je ne participerai pas à ça! Que la France gagne, perde, rien à carrer! Dans la vie, il y à des choses bien plus importantes que le foot! A la place, je me referai tous les épisodes de colombo, ça fait longtemps que je les ai pas vus. En espérant que ça fasse réfléchir tous mes amis fouteux comme moi . Moins de téléspectateurs, moins de pognon qui rentre dans leurs poches, aussi bête que ça… « Le Qatar, ce n'est pas le pays du football. Je ne suis pas contre l'idée d'organiser une Coupe du monde dans un pays où il est possible de développer et de promouvoir le football, comme en Afrique du Sud ou aux États-Unis dans les années 1990. » « Ce n'est qu'une question d'argent et la façon dont ils ont traité les gens qui ont construit les stades est horrible.  Et des milliers de personnes sont mortes.  Et pourtant, nous allons fêter cette Coupe du monde.  Pour être honnête, je ne me soucie pas vraiment de la prochaine Coupe du monde, qui n’en est pas une, selon moi »

The English Translation:

Eric Cantona I, the soccer lover, with all my heart, have made my decision, I will follow him, him and other figures like Philipp Lahm, Vincent Lindon and I will go through. I won't watch a single world cup game.

It costs me because since I was a kid it's an event I love, wait for and watch with passion! But let's connect with ourselves! This world cup doesn't make any sense! Worse it's a downpour! Yeah because qatar is not a soccer country! No fever no flavor An ecological habitat, with all these air-conditioned stages... 

What madness, what stupidity! But above all, a human horror... how many thousand died, to build these stadiums, for in the end what, amuse the gallery 2 months... and no one cares... The very caricature of what man is capable of carrying inside him as extreme bastard! The only meaning of this event, as we all know, is bribery. He's stronger than anything... business is business... the rest... I have made up my mind! I will not be watching! Ugh I know they don’t care and my little self won’t change it for the world But me personally, I just don't want to be part of the masquerade. And make money to those who close their eyes and hide behind their little finger saying it's not our business we can't do anything... States, Federations, Broadcasters, Advertisers, etc etc. If you can do it, just make a simple decision. Saying we don't play, saying we don't broadcast, we don't advertise etc etc. It's totally doable. Sometimes in life, decisions have to be made, even if it costs us. But all these people are not taking it.. once again, the loot is stronger than anything. So I will not be participating in that! May France win, lose, nothing to do! In life there are much more important things than football! Instead, I'll rewatch all the episodes of colombo, it's been a long time since I watched them. Hoping this will make all my crappy friends think like me. Less viewers, less loot going into their pockets, as dumb as that... "Qatar is not the country of football. I am not against the idea of organizing a World Cup in a country where football can be developed and promoted, like in South Africa or the USA in the 1990s. " "It's all a matter of money and the way they treated the people who built the stadiums is horrible." And thousands of people died. And yet we will celebrate this World Cup. To be honest, I don't really care about the next World Cup, which is not one in my opinion" 

Eric Cantona

All of this news has got me thinking. And I am beginning to think that the best thing to do is, like Cantona and my brother, simply not tune in to watch any matches for the upcoming World Cup, to not support it in any way. This will be difficult, since I have grown to love the World Cup tournament in particular over the years. Also, France is very good, and presumably have a chance to repeat. But as Cantona said, perhaps  it is best to simply refuse to watch regardless of whether France wins or loses, whether or not they enjoy success or failure, ultimately in this tournament.

Some things transcend sports. 

Below is the list of links to articles that I used in writing this particular blog entry, and from which I took the quotes by Eric Cantona used above:

'It’s horrible’: Eric Cantona reveals he won’t watch Qatar World Cup Cantona accused Fifa of awarding the tournament to Qatar solely for financial reasons  Harry Latham-Coyle Wednesday 12 January 2022

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/eric-cantona-qatar-2022-world-cup-b1991535.html

ERIC CANTONA: I will NOT watch the Qatar World Cup. Thousands of workers have died building the stadiums... The decision to let them host is all about money and there will be NO lasting legacy by Will Griffee, 12 January 2022:

Eric Cantona says the World Cup should be held somewhere to promote football Frenchman insists there is 'nothing' and no potential for Qatar to develop    

'Thousands of people died. And yet we will celebrate this World Cup', he said Cantona says he understands the World Cup is a business but will not watch  

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-10393613/Eric-Cantona-delivers-crippling-verdict-Qatar-World-Cup.html

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