Dr Mohamed Kirat
By Dr Mohamed Kirat
Since the announcement of Qatar winning the bid to host the 2022 World Cup, orchestrated media campaigns against the tiny Gulf country have been launched by news media in the West, mainly in Britain. For many, Qatar is not the country to host the game, and other countries such as Britain, USA and Australia are the “civilised’ and “developed” ones to handle the organisation of such a planetary event. The British media, namely the Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Times of London have been using all means and methods and unfounded accusations to undermine the State of Qatar and its reputation and to discredit its capabilities of hosting the tournament.
Sometimes, the argument is the issue of workers’ rights and working conditions and at other times the issue is the number of workers who died during the construction of the World Cup stadiums. The issue of the weather was also raised. Recently, leading British newspaper The Daily Telegraph launched another campaign, accusing leading figures in the world of football like Michel Platini, President of the European Football Association (UEFA) being bribed to vote for Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup. Since the announcement of the vote results in December 2010, the British press as well as western news media have been looking for arguments and pretexts to discriminate against Qatar from hosting the World cup and asking repeatedly for a new vote for hosting the 2022 football event.
When it comes to media ethics and professionalism, the hysteria experienced by the Daily Telegraph and other media outlets shows that, unfortunately objectivity, fairness and impartiality are strategic rituals, in the words of Gaye Tuchman, and mere empty slogans. The media accusations are not supported with hard and factual arguments. No evidence is presented and everything is based on assumptions and suppositions. What are the ulterior motives behind these orchestrated campaigns against Qatar? Are western media outlets looking for truth or are they striving to get the world cup organised in Britain or USA or Australia?
These discrediting campaigns against Qatar are without conclusive evidence and compelling arguments. The intention is not noble and the intent is not related to the service of truth and freedom of speech. Sheikh Ahmad Al Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia and the Association of National Olympic Committees, told the International Sporting Press Association: The attacks were “racist actions towards Qatar and Arabs, revealing the malice of those parties in a way that has no justification”. We will confront all such acts of racism and we will stand with Qatar so that no one snatches its right to organise the 2022 World Cup in Doha,” he added. Commenting about accusations directed to his person, Platini asserted: “I think there are lots of interests at stake, for people at FIFA, for people who want to go there and for people who are hoping to be there one day. And no doubt there are also interests of some parties who sell and buy TV rights who want to review the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. I seem to be the person who is upsetting them … And it is getting a bit too much.” Some argue that there are some interests at stake such as Rupert Murdoch’s interests in opposing a winter World Cup so that it does not interfere with other major US sporting events broadcast by Fox, and his ongoing global rivalry with Qatar-owned sports network Bein Sports, is somehow related to the latest wave of corruption allegations to hit Bin Hammam and the bid.
I believe the British media should focus on FIFA itself and how it should be run and managed in a more rational, decent, transparent and democratic way. The world soccer governing body has been managed for the past four decades as a corrupt monarchy. Joao Havelange ruled FIFA for 24 years (1974-1998) like any dictator in a Third World country. Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, has been in office for 16 years ((1998 to present) and he is looking for another term. Here is the real issue.
If there is somebody to blame, it’s not the state of Qatar for sure, but how Blatter and his colleagues at FIFA are managing the fate of world soccer. Qatar should be thanked for taking the initiative to host the world event for the first time in an Arab, Gulf and Middle Eastern country. Qatar has engaged hundreds of billions of dollars to build the needed infrastructure to host the championship. This is a contribution of democratising the game and getting it out of the domination and monopolisation of Europe and Latin America. As for the British press, I think it should abide by the cardinal rules of professional investigation and journalistic ethics, deontology and responsibility and keep away from sweeping statements and unfounded accusations.
I’m not defending the state of Qatar here, but if the British press has the proof I think there is a committee of ethics at FIFA and there are courts out there to look at cases of bribery and other issues of mismanagement by FIFA. On issues of workers’ rights, workers conditions, temperature and the like, I think the world soccer governing body FIFA should have looked at such issues before allowing countries to bid for organising the World Cup.
The irony here is that western media were talking about hundreds of Asian workers dying in world cup stadium construction sites, while in reality such construction work has not started yet.
This is a malicious way to practice journalism. It is evident here that things are mixed up and media persons are not differentiating between facts and speculation and between news and opinion and between wishes and reality.
Kirat is a Professor of Public Relations and Mass Communication at the College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University.
By Dr Mohamed Kirat
Since the announcement of Qatar winning the bid to host the 2022 World Cup, orchestrated media campaigns against the tiny Gulf country have been launched by news media in the West, mainly in Britain. For many, Qatar is not the country to host the game, and other countries such as Britain, USA and Australia are the “civilised’ and “developed” ones to handle the organisation of such a planetary event. The British media, namely the Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Times of London have been using all means and methods and unfounded accusations to undermine the State of Qatar and its reputation and to discredit its capabilities of hosting the tournament.
Sometimes, the argument is the issue of workers’ rights and working conditions and at other times the issue is the number of workers who died during the construction of the World Cup stadiums. The issue of the weather was also raised. Recently, leading British newspaper The Daily Telegraph launched another campaign, accusing leading figures in the world of football like Michel Platini, President of the European Football Association (UEFA) being bribed to vote for Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup. Since the announcement of the vote results in December 2010, the British press as well as western news media have been looking for arguments and pretexts to discriminate against Qatar from hosting the World cup and asking repeatedly for a new vote for hosting the 2022 football event.
When it comes to media ethics and professionalism, the hysteria experienced by the Daily Telegraph and other media outlets shows that, unfortunately objectivity, fairness and impartiality are strategic rituals, in the words of Gaye Tuchman, and mere empty slogans. The media accusations are not supported with hard and factual arguments. No evidence is presented and everything is based on assumptions and suppositions. What are the ulterior motives behind these orchestrated campaigns against Qatar? Are western media outlets looking for truth or are they striving to get the world cup organised in Britain or USA or Australia?
These discrediting campaigns against Qatar are without conclusive evidence and compelling arguments. The intention is not noble and the intent is not related to the service of truth and freedom of speech. Sheikh Ahmad Al Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia and the Association of National Olympic Committees, told the International Sporting Press Association: The attacks were “racist actions towards Qatar and Arabs, revealing the malice of those parties in a way that has no justification”. We will confront all such acts of racism and we will stand with Qatar so that no one snatches its right to organise the 2022 World Cup in Doha,” he added. Commenting about accusations directed to his person, Platini asserted: “I think there are lots of interests at stake, for people at FIFA, for people who want to go there and for people who are hoping to be there one day. And no doubt there are also interests of some parties who sell and buy TV rights who want to review the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. I seem to be the person who is upsetting them … And it is getting a bit too much.” Some argue that there are some interests at stake such as Rupert Murdoch’s interests in opposing a winter World Cup so that it does not interfere with other major US sporting events broadcast by Fox, and his ongoing global rivalry with Qatar-owned sports network Bein Sports, is somehow related to the latest wave of corruption allegations to hit Bin Hammam and the bid.
I believe the British media should focus on FIFA itself and how it should be run and managed in a more rational, decent, transparent and democratic way. The world soccer governing body has been managed for the past four decades as a corrupt monarchy. Joao Havelange ruled FIFA for 24 years (1974-1998) like any dictator in a Third World country. Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, has been in office for 16 years ((1998 to present) and he is looking for another term. Here is the real issue.
If there is somebody to blame, it’s not the state of Qatar for sure, but how Blatter and his colleagues at FIFA are managing the fate of world soccer. Qatar should be thanked for taking the initiative to host the world event for the first time in an Arab, Gulf and Middle Eastern country. Qatar has engaged hundreds of billions of dollars to build the needed infrastructure to host the championship. This is a contribution of democratising the game and getting it out of the domination and monopolisation of Europe and Latin America. As for the British press, I think it should abide by the cardinal rules of professional investigation and journalistic ethics, deontology and responsibility and keep away from sweeping statements and unfounded accusations.
I’m not defending the state of Qatar here, but if the British press has the proof I think there is a committee of ethics at FIFA and there are courts out there to look at cases of bribery and other issues of mismanagement by FIFA. On issues of workers’ rights, workers conditions, temperature and the like, I think the world soccer governing body FIFA should have looked at such issues before allowing countries to bid for organising the World Cup.
The irony here is that western media were talking about hundreds of Asian workers dying in world cup stadium construction sites, while in reality such construction work has not started yet.
This is a malicious way to practice journalism. It is evident here that things are mixed up and media persons are not differentiating between facts and speculation and between news and opinion and between wishes and reality.
Kirat is a Professor of Public Relations and Mass Communication at the College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University.
