Qatar Bans Beer Sales at World Cup Stadiums
nytimes.com
nytimes.com
I knew it early on that they would bait and switch but wait till the last minute before they go with the plan of imposing their religious dogmatic policies on victims, i.e. fans and visitors from all over the world.
If FIFA was so intent on making history by awarding the WC hosting for the first time ever to an Arab or Muslim-majority country, they could have awarded it to the UAE instead, and they would have delivered a fantastic job honoring the traditions of past tournaments, and ensuring smooth and secure operations as well as a festive atmosphere for all involved, but they instead went with that fundamentalist and fanatical country of Qatar, and then they have the audacity to act all surprised when this crap happens.
But UAE didn't bid?
They did host this club world cup.
This is a great example of what corruption looks like and why it's so devastating to markets. FIFA officials took millions in bribes to sway this and the Russian WC without any regard for the outcome because they all got paid upfront. There was nothing altruistic about the decision to give it to Qatar.
A major beer sponsor is now going to have to lawyer up and fans who have planned for this trip for years will not be able to experience it the way they want to.
People should boycott fifa if they want to see a change. Otherwise things will not change.
They will probably instruct their local police to turn a blind eye. But if they don't, I bet this is going to lead to diplomatic crisis one way or the other.
0: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/15/gay-qataris...
Having said that it's not unreasonable to have a alcohol free World Cup. The problem is the 48h notice is unreasonable. If I have planned a trip with a view to sit and enjoy watching a match with a beer, and now I am not able to, that's the problem.
Brazil also doesn't sell beer in stadiums and they had to temporarily change rules while the WC was in town
Also, I have to call out the authoritarian and gloating tone in your comment at the misfortune of other regular folks for the mere crime of loving and enjoying football/soccer.
It's too late to change the host, but it doesn't mean you have to accept the whole shit show and not call them out
I think the entire thing is explosive, and the recent response of Qatar to ban alcoholic sales (whether it's acceptable or not I don't care) shows that they have no idea they are walking on thin ice, and that's a bad sign. Whatever Qatar or the fans should've done might matter for you to pick a side, but I personally think those responsible are whoever brought the fire and oil together, neither the fire nor oils fault for exploding when they met. I think Qatar is also pretty shortsighted for not realizing the damage they are going to do to themselves might be much more than the advantage.
Yes, unfortunately this is a serious problem with us in the West. We feel hugely entitled to behave as we like anywhere in the world.
Case in point Grinder taking cannabis products into Russia. Shocking behaviour by most of the world's standards. But apparently didn't even cross her mind Russia has its own rules.
I'd say I'm a heavy drinker. But even I can see that forgoing alcohol in a foreign country is as obvious as me stopping smoking weed when I get home from Amsterdam.
Not really the same as Qatar pulled the rug on the alcohol ban 2 days before the event starts...
Don't think there's a good analogy for that, even if you had planned a trip to Amsterdam years in advance for some big event and they completely banned weed 2 days before said event wouldn't be the same, the expectations around alcohol and weed are quite different for the intended audience of said event.
Personally I just don't see recreational drugs (that includes alcohol) a big deal.
But remember it's not completely banned you can drink at the festival and the hotels. You just can't buy alcohol in the stadium. Bud 0% is available.
No big deal in my book.
On the other, nobody deserves this kind of blatant bait-and-switch after they've paid for their nonrefundable tickets. And bad behavior by one person does not justify bad behavior by another - or to other innocent members of the same group.
Being outraged that they’re not allowed to drink beer during a football match in Qatar is more an indication of their alcohol dependency.
I'm no fan of football but I can understand that for most this is part of the ritual, having that changed without prior notice just 2 days away from the event does upset some people. I don't think taking the literal "you paid to watch football matches" really helps you to understand the outrage, there's a dependency on alcohol, yes, there was also an expectation that was broken.
At least ostensibly, big worldwide events like this (Olympics, World's Fair, etc.) are about cultural exchange. There's no room for exchange under authoritarianism.
I appreciate your comment, but I'd appreciate it a lot more if you didn't pussyfoot with this juvenile he who shall not be named crap and just said the name. It shows respect for the reader by saving them time, not having to go detective mode searching for this "certain UK brewery with an animal in their name".
I ask because I am not sure what the solution is to "Cleaning up FIFA" they are a massive entity that is not really beholden to anyone because they are private and are just in the business of taking money from people to have players play more football.
I'm very curious because most of the issues that sports face in the US is more about labor disputes / discrimination / cleaning up player's messes / hiding medical results that may showcase the sport in bad light which are awful in their own right but fall short of the massive amounts of money FIFA executives receive from countries trying to sportswash.
Like many people the Russia / Qatar WC have been nothing short of eye-opening in terms of just how little FIFA cares about anything except raking in massive piles of cash that they use for some vanity projects here and there but mostly just to pay their executives.
HOWEVER, if you - as FIFA - decide to host the world cup in Qatar regardless, then you should absolutely conform to Qatar's local customs and laws.
Qatar is a country where public displays of alcohol consumption, especially as practiced in European stadiums, are morally and legally not okay. It is up to FIFA, the sponsors and the guests to conform to that - as guests in said country.
FIFA is free to hold the world cup in a different country.
I think it will be positive in encouraging loosening of the oppressive regime there.
It's also unfortunately one of the more viable options in the middle east where football is THE sport of the people.*
If no booze is served all that means is Muslims may be more comfortable attending.
Who cares about alcohol anyways.
* where else? Saudi? That'd be even worse. Turkey is ideal, but really cant afford it as inflation hits 85+%. Israel would be good but unfortunately most Arabs would struggle to travel there nor is it safe. Dubai/UAE might work, but ultimately have same issues.
I think you're right to discount Israel, to be honest not just because of safety and access issues but because it's a relatively small country that can't reasonably support stadia of the size and quality required to host the World Cup. They've three ~30k seaters which is ok but the rest are absolutely tiny - to be honest even the Greater Glasgow area likely has a better selection and there's not a hope in hell of even a Scotland bid (outside there's one >60k, three around 20-22k and a dozen more 10-19k). These smaller nations would do much better to submit joint bid - most countries can afford at least a couple of white elephant stadia if they don't already have a few bigger teams that could occupy them - but with Israel, I can't think who they'd host with.
FIFA is free to hold the world cup in a different country.
Not 48 hours before kick-off they're not.
This is just the free market that HN readers love at work - perhaps there should have been some criticism of Qatar before this world cup? I haven't seen any before now.
Australia, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, United States. Out of those, Qatar paid by far the largest bribes, so that's where it's being held. Any one of the other four would have done a perfectly adequate job.
There have been over six thousand migrant worker deaths in Qatar since the bid: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/23/r...
I think it's dispiriting that this is the issue that appears more important to fans over the circumstances of the bid win (bribery) or the human rights issues with the host country. Should the fans care? Well even at a shallow surface level yeah: I'm not a football fan but even I recognise that America or Australia, also in the bidding, being hosts would have been awesome by comparison.
Cause I'm not seeing this will be a popular event.
For what it's worth I have absolutely no problem with Qatar saying no stadium alcohol.
There'll be booze at the festival, on hotels.
Alcohol is possibly the worst aspect of football. Worse than the silly diving.
Qatar is the most viable (money meets opportunity, meets safety) option and will give the middle east access to the world cup which would not really be possible.
You realise it's starting in 48 hours? Better hurry up and decide.
Depending on fallout I might be able to pop in with cheap tickets. :)
That's all I need to hear, corruption to the end.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_of_Utah
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar#Law
Qatar:
> In 2010, at least 18 people (mostly foreign nationals) were sentenced to receive between 40 and 100 lashes for offences involving "illicit sexual relations" or alcohol consumption.[125] In 2011, at least 21 people (mostly foreign nationals) were sentenced to between 30 and 100 lashes for the same reasons,[126] and in 2012, six expatriates were sentenced to either 40 or 100 lashes.
> Alcohol consumption is partially legal in Qatar; some five-star luxury hotels are allowed to sell alcohol to their non-Muslim customers.[135][136] Muslims are not allowed to consume alcohol, and those caught consuming it are liable to flogging or deportation. Non-Muslim expatriates can obtain a permit to purchase alcohol for personal consumption.
Utah:
> A person must be 21 years old or older to buy or consume alcohol.[2] The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services (UDABS) has regulated the sale of alcoholic beverages since 1935, two years after the end of Prohibition.[3] Utah is one of seventeen control states, meaning the state has a monopoly over the wholesaling and/or retailing of some or all categories of alcoholic beverages.[4] Current Utah law sets a limit of 4.0 percent alcohol by weight (5% ABV) in beer sold at grocery and convenience stores and at establishments operating under a "beer only" type license, such as taverns, beer bars and some restaurants.[5] Beer over 4.0 percent by weight (5% ABV) is available in State Liquor Stores and Package Agencies and at clubs and restaurants licensed to sell liquor.
I was there a few years before that, you could buy 3.2% beer in a supermarket but for anything stronger needed to go to a State Liquor Store. The only State Liquor Stores that I saw were built like WWII Normandy bunkers, just to make it clear that you were doing something really bad by going there. From memory, you needed to get "membership" of any bar to drink there.
We also, in recent years, permitted alcohol sales on Sunday. Also, anything stronger than beer or wine is purchased from a "State Store". We never, to me knowledge, had the "zion curtains" in restaurants. https://www.amusingplanet.com/2017/01/the-zion-curtains-of-u...
The joke in Utah is that you always invite two Mormons to go fishing with you, because if there is only one they will drink all of your beer.
Not exactly. When I lived in Chambersburg (2014-2016), I purchased beer from the few beer stores around. In & Out Beverage is still there [0]. If I recall correctly, they were classified as a distributor that was able to sell cases to the public. If you wanted less than a case then you had to find a bar to buy it from.
That is, the only reason why you can purchase beer in grocery stores here is due to a legal loophole.
As of today beer distributors sell quantities smaller than a case.
Shangy's is great if you are ever out this way again!
I doubt I'll be that way again but I'll make a note to check out Shangy's if I ever am.
1. https://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck...
The down side of this is that there's a limit to how much alcohol you can purchase from a grocery store at once. If you want to purchase more than 16 (12 oz) bottles of beer you must do so in two transactions. This can't be two transactions in a row, so you have to physically carry your alcohol out of the store, leave it outside (or in your car), come back in, and buy the rest.
To make matters worse, if nothing changed in this regard since the 90s, fresh produce are sterilized via gamma radiation, so they simply don't ferment.
All in all, many hoops to jump through for prospective moonshiners.
I suspect a black market forming there soon enough though - there's likely one in place already.
Not that it makes it any better.
When we built a new college football stadium in Minnesota a special liquor license was requested to allow selling alcohol in the suits. A legislator objected and gathered enough support to add on to the license that if they sold alcohol anywhere in the stadium... they had to sell it everywhere.
The school stalled for a season, then sorta complied (hilariously tried hiding the beer sales in the back corners of the stadium), and finally relented and were one of the first upper division / larger schools to sell alcohol to everyone on game day. Visiting fans were shocked for for a couple years when they entered the stadium and folks were walking around with beer.
Worked out fine, no noticeable issues associated with it.
When the US hosts the World Cup does anyone expect that they are going to be willing to suspend laws that other countries find objectionable, for the duration of the World Cup? Of course not, the US doesn’t give a damn what other countries think about it’s (sometimes peculiar) morality. Neither should Qatar.
They are further angering people as the ban doesn't extend to VIP's, who will be able to consume as much alcohol as they want from their VIP boxes and seats.
I don't personally care what they do, I'll be watching in a Czech pub, drinking beer that's orders of magnitude better than Budweiser (likely Polička or Pilsner Urquell) and cheaper too ($12 @ World Cup vs ~$2.10-2.50) :)
And they're bad at football, maybe there's a connection.
In any case, no one should be going to, or watching, this world cup - https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/14/stadiums-of...