# Gays slam FIFA chief over 'no sex' in Qatar quip



## Big Don (Dec 15, 2010)

*Gays slam FIFA chief over 'no sex' in Qatar quip*
*Dec 15 07:34 AM US/Eastern
Breitbart/AFP 
EXCERPT:
*
 	  	Gay rights activists  have reacted furiously after FIFA President Sepp Blatter quipped that  gay football fans should "refrain" from sex during the 2022 World Cup in  Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal.    Asked about concerns over the treatment of gay fans at the tournament,  Blatter responded: "I would say that they should refrain from any sexual  activities."  
  The comments, made Monday during a press conference in South Africa  alongside the country's President Jacob Zuma, are the latest slip-up  from the gaffe-prone football chief and provoked an immediate and fierce  backlash.  
  Former NBA basketball star John Amaechi -- who revealed he was gay in  2007 -- led the attack, accusing the FIFA president of "epic, archaic,  neanderthal, ignorance.  
  "With little more than an afterthought FIFA has endorsed the  marginalisation of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] people  around the world," he wrote on his blog.  
  "Anything less than a full reversal of his position is unacceptable."  
  The Gay Football Supporters' Network, already infuriated by the decision  earlier this month to award the 2022 tournament to the Middle Eastern  state, called on Blatter to retract his comments immediately or resign.  
  "Many LGBT people live in countries where they would face execution or  imprisonment if discovered, these people deserve our help, our respect  and our support," said chair of the group Chris Basiurski in a  statement. 

END EXCERPT
How dare anyone mention that flaunting one's homosexuality in a nation where homosexuality is a crime might be a bad idea?


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## CanuckMA (Dec 15, 2010)

The mistake was awarding it to them in the first place. Now that it's done, the advice is sound.


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## granfire (Dec 15, 2010)

sheesh, can't they keep it in their pants for 3 weeks?


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## Empty Hands (Dec 15, 2010)

granfire said:


> sheesh, can't they keep it in their pants for 3 weeks?



Hint: the gays aren't annoyed because they can't boink in the middle of the street in downtown Doha.


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## CoryKS (Dec 15, 2010)

It's a case of 'Kill the messenger'.  He has no sway over Qatar.  The only thing he's doing is offering a piece of advice on how to stay safe while travelling in the country.  And though I personally have spent no time in a Qatar jail, I'm guessing it's probably a good piece of advice.  

But don't let that stop the knee-jerk response.  Gods, it must be a miserably unhappy existence to go through life thinking with your emotions.


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## chrispillertkd (Dec 15, 2010)

Big Don said:


> *Gays slam FIFA chief over 'no sex' in Qatar quip*
> *Dec 15 07:34 AM US/Eastern*
> *Breitbart/AFP *
> *EXCERPT:*
> ...


 
Any word on what Amaechi said regarding the laws in Qatar? Specifically the law which makes homosexual activity a crime? 



> "With little more than an afterthought FIFA has endorsed the marginalisation of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] people around the world," he wrote on his blog.
> "Anything less than a full reversal of his position is unacceptable."


 
So, he wants Blatter to say that homosexuals _should_ engage in sex while they are in Qatar? That would be a "full reversal" of his position, after all. I am curious, however, how endorsing _that_ behavior would help both Blatter and homosexual fans with the authorities in Qatar. 

Yet another example of a situation in which _all parties_ should just shut up, IMNSHO.

Pax,

Chris


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## Cryozombie (Dec 15, 2010)

CoryKS said:


> Gods, it must be a miserably unhappy existence to go through life thinking with your emotions.



That's why I'm glad I am not a woman.  Or  Liberal.  *snicker snicker* 

K, let the slams begin.


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## Empty Hands (Dec 15, 2010)

CoryKS said:


> It's a case of 'Kill the messenger'.  He has no sway over Qatar.  The only thing he's doing is offering a piece of advice on how to stay safe while travelling in the country.  And though I personally have spent no time in a Qatar jail, I'm guessing it's probably a good piece of advice.



********.  He was asked a legitimate question about a legitimate concern that gay fans have in traveling to a country where what they are is illegal.  He responded in a flip way that didn't address the question and at least appeared to be dismissive of the concern.  For instance, Qatar does not recognize same-sex relationships.  Would a gay couple simply traveling together be arrested?  Would recognition as a homosexual without sexual activity be enough to trigger arrest?  Perhaps he should have gone along those lines instead.

"Mr. FIFA Chief, the next World Cup is in Country X where it is illegal to be a Christian.  What should our Christian fans do in this country?"

"Don't pray."

 You tell me how well that would go over.



CoryKS said:


> But don't let that stop the knee-jerk response.  Gods, it must be a miserably unhappy existence to go through life thinking with your emotions.



Or people want to be treated as equals deserving of respect and don't consider that particularly "emotional."

Kind of a dick way to write off a lot of people all at once without even trying to understand their viewpoint.


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## Empty Hands (Dec 15, 2010)

Cryozombie said:


> That's why I'm glad I am not a woman.  Or  Liberal.  *snicker snicker*
> 
> K, let the slams begin.



In my experience, there is no creature in this country more emotional than the red-blooded conservative man.  From fear of terrorism to uncritical love of country to disdain for the arugula eating elites to anger at those "undeserving" people receiving government benefits emotions seem to rule their lives.

People are emotional, who knew?


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## granfire (Dec 15, 2010)

Empty Hands said:


> Hint: the gays aren't annoyed because they can't boink in the middle of the street in downtown Doha.



lol, it's not exactly like one can tell from looking at a person for which team he bats.

Ain't that long ago that it was not legal around these parts either. many states still have the according laws on the books.


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## CoryKS (Dec 15, 2010)

Empty Hands said:


> ********. He was asked a legitimate question about a legitimate concern that gay fans have in traveling to a country where what they are is illegal. He responded in a flip way that didn't address the question and at least appeared to be dismissive of the concern. For instance, Qatar does not recognize same-sex relationships. Would a gay couple simply traveling together be arrested? Would recognition as a homosexual without sexual activity be enough to trigger arrest? Perhaps he should have gone along those lines instead.
> 
> "Mr. FIFA Chief, the next World Cup is in Country X where it is illegal to be a Christian. What should our Christian fans do in this country?"
> 
> ...


 
Exactly how did you want him to address the question? Should he get on the horn with the president/king/whatever of Qatar and have him change the law? It isn't dismissive of the concern to offer to them what is, realistically, the only possible advice to give someone going to Qatar. Seriously, what do you want to have happen? And yeah, I expect that the answer would be about the same for Christianity. If the games were held in Fraudi Arabia, where bibles are actually confiscated if found and prayer groups have been arrested, I would expect a similar answer. Because _there's nothing he can do_. Are you seriously boo-hooing about the tone he used? How old are you?




Empty Hands said:


> Or people want to be treated as equals deserving of respect and don't consider that particularly "emotional."
> 
> Kind of a dick way to write off a lot of people all at once without even trying to understand their viewpoint.


 
They're not going to get that in Qatar, period. That's not what makes them 'emotional'. What makes them 'emotional' is their complete unwillingness to recognize the situation as it is, and taking it out on this guy for stating the obvious.


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## Empty Hands (Dec 15, 2010)

CoryKS said:


> Exactly how did you want him to address the question?



Address some of the concerns I raised, for one.  Let everyone attending know what the actual boundaries are beyond "don't ****."  As the chief of FIFA, I have no doubt he was involved in the negotiations for the World Cup with Qatar, and thus should have the ability to find that out at least, although obviously not to change the law.  Or at the least he should acknowledge the concerns and state the limits of his knowledge.

This is serious stuff.  Middle Eastern states aren't exactly nice when it comes to the gays.  Would simply traveling as a couple be enough to arrest?  Would acknowledging your sexuality be enough for arrest?  Would looking stereotypically gay be enough to arrest?  These concerns go far beyond sex.  



CoryKS said:


> Are you seriously boo-hooing about the tone he used? How old are you?



Really?



CoryKS said:


> What makes them 'emotional' is their complete unwillingness to recognize  the situation as it is, and taking it out on this guy for stating the  obvious.



What they are criticizing him for is his seeming flipness and dismissiveness of gay concerns.  Please don't keep claiming that everyone is mad at the guy because he can't change the laws of Qatar.

Although I am sure there is still anger over Qatar being chosen in the first place given their regressive laws.  And Blatter has a history of putting his foot in his mouth, such as telling women players that the path to popularity for their sport was to wear tighter shorts.  I'm sure that feeds into it as well.


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## Empty Hands (Dec 15, 2010)

granfire said:


> lol, it's not exactly like one can tell from looking at a person for which team he bats.



Plenty of people think you can do just that.  I knew guys bullied for being "gay" (they were straight) for having long hair when they were young.

As I've pointed out in other posts, there are issues far beyond sex that involve gay travelers.  Such as gay couples traveling together or individuals acknowledging their sexuality even if no sex is involved.  Is that enough to be arrested and charged in Qatar?  Who knows?  That would be more useful information to have than this.


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## Archangel M (Dec 15, 2010)

Soccer?? 

Eh.


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## chrispillertkd (Dec 15, 2010)

granfire said:


> lol, it's not exactly like one can tell from looking at a person for which team he bats.


 
I'll never forget when I was getting my degree in psychology and took a class where the professor had several students from the campus glbt students group and their parents come to speak during one of the lectures. After some of the visitors and their parents giving testimonies (for lack of a better term) about growing up homosexual, what their experiences on campus were like, how the parents reacted to their children coming out, etc. they opened the floor to questions from the other students. 

The last question during the class was asked by a young lady who wanted to know how these homosexual students found people to date if they weren't already members of that student group. One gentleman answered by saying, "You can just tell by looking at them." Most of the other students who were the guests that day agreed.

Lots of uncomfortable silence on the part of the students from class since we had all already been told repeatedly by the professor and TAs that this was decidely something you could _not_ do :lol:

Pax,

Chris


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## granfire (Dec 15, 2010)

but you can also be very wrong about it! :lol:


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## Big Don (Dec 15, 2010)

chrispillertkd said:


> One gentleman answered by saying, "You can just tell by looking at them." Most of the other students who were the guests that day agreed.
> 
> Lots of uncomfortable silence on the part of the students from class since we had all already been told repeatedly by the professor and TAs that this was decidely something *you could not* do


Well, YOU could not, they could, because, apparently, different rules apply. Kind of like how some people are allowed to use certain words and all others are absolutely forbidden to use those same words. It's called Political Correctness, and it is a crock of dung.


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## granfire (Dec 15, 2010)

Big Don said:


> Well, YOU could not, they could, because, apparently, different rules apply. Kind of like how some people are allowed to use certain words and all others are absolutely forbidden to use those same words. It's called Political Correctness, and it is a crock of dung.



rofl, I think you got that wrong: it's not about PCness but about certain signal a person emits unwillingly to his/her surrounding, more primal than verbal communication! 

The deal is, if you keep your pants on, no matter how 'fruity' you act you can't be had for 'those things' I don't think even Sharia works this way. 
And then of course there is that thing that a) one would hope a guest would honor the host country as to not break current laws and b) that they (the host country) don't have any interest in busting foreigners for _stuff. 

_I mean, it's somewhere in the world traveler's etiquette: know the customs of your destination and act accordingly.

(I know it's sexist, but I am sure there are more female soccer fans than gay ones...anybody bothered with the head scarf idea?)


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## Bruno@MT (Dec 16, 2010)

Empty Hands said:


> "Mr. FIFA Chief, the next World Cup is in Country X where it is illegal to be a Christian.  What should our Christian fans do in this country?"
> 
> "Don't pray."
> 
> You tell me how well that would go over.



Or how about Alabama in the 50s or South Africa in the 80s.
Mr. Fifa Chief, what should the black people do in this country?
Ride the back of the bus, queue in separate line and take real good care not to interfere with the white people.

Yeah...

Qatar shouldn't have gotten it in the first place. And this is a cheap cop out from Blatter.


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## Tez3 (Dec 16, 2010)

Sex between unmarried men and women is also illegal, those footballers and fans who aren't married to their partners will also be acting illegally if they bring their girlfriends. 
Serious warning about the laws there would have been acceptable, it's the fact he chose to make a joke out of it, actually quite insulting for the hosts as well to have their laws made fun of.


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## Bruno@MT (Dec 16, 2010)

Tez3 said:


> Serious warning about the laws there would have been acceptable, it's the fact he chose to make a joke out of it, actually quite insulting for the hosts as well to have their laws made fun of.



Making fun of discriminatory laws is no different than making fun of the old segregation laws. You might as well say that we should not be making fun of laws that deem wearing trousers a whipping offense for women.


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## Big Don (Dec 16, 2010)

Bruno@MT said:


> Making fun of discriminatory laws is no different than making fun of the old segregation laws. You might as well say that we should not be making fun of laws that deem wearing trousers a whipping offense for women.


Another law which only exists in the Muslim world.


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## Tez3 (Dec 16, 2010)

Bruno@MT said:


> Making fun of discriminatory laws is no different than making fun of the old segregation laws. You might as well say that we should not be making fun of laws that deem wearing trousers a whipping offense for women.


 

He wasn't making fun of the laws in that way though, his joke had a different nuance to it. His joke was a snide one aimed at denigrating gay people, the by product was that it also managed to insult the hosts in such a way that it didn't ridicule their laws which would have been good but merely insulted them which as they had paid good money in bribes to him and his team wasn't the greatest idea in the world.


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## Bruno@MT (Dec 16, 2010)

I don't think you can ridicule the laws and not offend the hosts. After all, they are the people making those ridiculous laws. So what does that make them? Ridiculing the laws is a direct statement about the people making those laws. And in this case, well deserved.

And I still think the UK is having a case of 'sore loser'. Was there proof of bribing? Or was it a matter of financial incentives for the FIFA? Btw, I, for one, am happy as can be that we didn't win the selection. It costs millions and millions of euros, without anything to show for it except the 'prestige'.
That said, with Qatar being what it is, the FIFA should not have awarded them the games, based on the facts of their continuing human rights violations.


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## Tez3 (Dec 16, 2010)

Bruno@MT said:


> I don't think you can ridicule the laws and not offend the hosts. After all, they are the people making those ridiculous laws. So what does that make them? Ridiculing the laws is a direct statement about the people making those laws. And in this case, well deserved.
> 
> And I still think the UK is having a case of 'sore loser'. Was there proof of bribing? Or was it a matter of financial incentives for the FIFA? Btw, I, for one, am happy as can be that we didn't win the selection. It costs millions and millions of euros, without anything to show for it except the 'prestige'.
> That said, with Qatar being what it is, the FIFA should not have awarded them the games, based on the facts of their continuing human rights violations.


 
The UK wasn't looking to host the world cup, England was, there was little support for it outside there.
I'm quite happy for Quatar to be insulted, it deserves it for many reasons, I was just pointing out that Blatter managed to insult quite a few people by his ineptitude not defending him  or saying that Quatar shouldn't be insulted. He's a numpty of the highest order, he really doesn't know what he's doing or saying.

The BBC came up with quite a lot of damning proof of bribes given and taken which is the reason it's believed England didn't get the world cup.


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## Bruno@MT (Dec 16, 2010)

Tez3 said:


> Sex between unmarried men and women is also illegal, those footballers and fans who aren't married to their partners will also be acting illegally if they bring their girlfriends.
> Serious warning about the laws there would have been acceptable, it's the fact he chose to



That's a fact. Serious travel warnings and education will be needed.
There might be an upside though. I really hope that the UK soccer hooligans go party.


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## Tez3 (Dec 16, 2010)

Bruno@MT said:


> That's a fact. Serious travel warnings and education will be needed.
> There might be an upside though. I really hope that the UK soccer hooligans go party.


 
That's if any UK teams get through to the finals! They are going to have to improve drastically before then. The Polish and German hooligans are worse as they actually arrange to meet in fields to fight it out as well as go to the footie.


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## Empty Hands (Dec 16, 2010)

Tez3 said:


> The Polish and German hooligans are worse as they actually arrange to meet in fields to fight it out as well as go to the footie.



Leave it to the German hooligans to be well ordered and organized in their mayhem.


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## Tez3 (Dec 16, 2010)

Empty Hands said:


> Leave it to the German hooligans to be well ordered and organized in their mayhem.


 
It is organised, many think these are just fights that break out at matches but it's acutally organised fighting between 'armies' of men masquarading as football supporters. Tactics are worked out on how to ambush rivals etc, recces are done and they go 'tooled' up ie with weapons such as knives. Many here are known to the police and have banning orders on them making sure they stay away from matches both here and abroad. It's not such a big problem as it was in the seventies as a lot of effort has gone into stamping it out, the police will send officers abroad to help local police identify the troublemakers and help prevent the fights. There are those who aren't affiliated with these groups who get bladdered and fight though, that seems inevitable when certain types drink.


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## CanuckMA (Dec 16, 2010)

Tez3 said:


> . The Polish and German hooligans are worse as they actually arrange to meet in fields to fight it out as well as go to the footie.


 

There goes the Germans beating up on the Poles again.


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## Bruno@MT (Dec 16, 2010)

1940 all over again...

In any case, I don't particularly care about them beating the snot out of each other. I would even go as far as giving them a quiet place to go at it. 2 groups of hooligans agreeing to meet someplace to play WW2 is a victimless crime.


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## granfire (Dec 16, 2010)

Bruno@MT said:


> 2 groups of hooligans agreeing to meet someplace to play WW2 is a victimless crime.



only if they clean up after themselves...


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## Tez3 (Dec 16, 2010)

It's the sort of thing FIFA would be better concentrating stamping out on rather than chasing the next big 'pressie', that and stamping out racism which goes hand in hand with this type of violence as well as the homophobia that is rife in football.


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## granfire (Dec 16, 2010)

you gotta make a clear statement, with all that male bonding, hugging and butt slapping, that you are not gay 

(somehow I know I am missing the grand idea...of all the things we took from the antiquity, how come we are such a homophobic bunch?)

but then again, soccer has always been a kind of deferred warfare: our village against yours, us vs them, the dark skin dude will be the N***** when he plays for your rival, the hero when he's on your team....it's just...the population has changed a lot in 20 years. 
When I was in school you were hard pressed to find somebody with a bit more skin pigment, and now schools look like the united nations, and that in your average small city in the German province. Eventually you have to get over it.



%think%


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## LuckyKBoxer (Dec 16, 2010)

Empty Hands said:


> Address some of the concerns I raised, for one. Let everyone attending know what the actual boundaries are beyond "don't ****." As the chief of FIFA, I have no doubt he was involved in the negotiations for the World Cup with Qatar, and thus should have the ability to find that out at least, although obviously not to change the law. Or at the least he should acknowledge the concerns and state the limits of his knowledge.
> 
> This is serious stuff. Middle Eastern states aren't exactly nice when it comes to the gays. Would simply traveling as a couple be enough to arrest? Would acknowledging your sexuality be enough for arrest? Would looking stereotypically gay be enough to arrest? These concerns go far beyond sex.
> 
> ...


 
oh seriously come on... its not his responsibility to go look at what gays have to avoid doing to not get arrested in a foreign country.
thats ridiculous.
the question was strictly political and rhetorical.. it was meant to bring attention to the fact that Qatar outlaws homosexuality, it was not a question for any other reason but to cause outrage, and turmoil over the fact that the event was awarded to Qatar, and that Homosexuality is a crime there.


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## Tez3 (Dec 16, 2010)

It's not his job to make peurile jokes in public either, he's in the position of a diplomat and should have kept his mouth firmly shut if he can't say anything without being insulting. This is the man who compared top footballers who are on hundreds of thousands of pounds plus salaries to 'slaves'. He also complained when the married England captain was stripped of his captaincy after the footballer's affair with a best mate's girlfriend (now ex gf) became public knowledge, he'd gone to court to try to have newspapers gagged about his affair. Blatter thought the English were being prudish in our view of our youth's role model. 
When asked what FIFA should do to help promote womens soccer he replied he'd bring in tighter shorts. And this man is still in his position?


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## CoryKS (Dec 16, 2010)

It's not his job to provide tips for 'How to Travel to Bass-ackward Countries While Gay' either.  I would have made a smartass comment too because why the **** are you asking me this?  Got a soccer question?


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## Tez3 (Dec 16, 2010)

It's not his place to make smart **** comments. he can refuse to answer questions and to ask for questions to be on topic without being a smutty child.


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## LuckyKBoxer (Dec 16, 2010)

Tez3 said:


> It's not his job to make peurile jokes in public either, he's in the position of a diplomat and should have kept his mouth firmly shut if he can't say anything without being insulting. This is the man who compared top footballers who are on hundreds of thousands of pounds plus salaries to 'slaves'. He also complained when the married England captain was stripped of his captaincy after the footballer's affair with a best mate's girlfriend (now ex gf) became public knowledge, he'd gone to court to try to have newspapers gagged about his affair. Blatter thought the English were being prudish in our view of our youth's role model.
> When asked what FIFA should do to help promote womens soccer he replied he'd bring in tighter shorts. And this man is still in his position?


 
This conversation had nothing to do with the rest of his nonsense..
I could care less about all of that. sounds like the guy is a jerk.. fine..
the fact remains this was a dumb question, and was not what was even meant by asking the question... peopel just cant come straight forward and ask what they really wanted to ask..
"Why did you award the game to a country that has criminilized and persecuted homosexuals?"

that was what they should have asked, and that would have been valid.
also I hate to say it but I would probably watch a few more games if they played in tighter shorts.... I still remember Brandy Chastain ripping her shirt off in that game...
but it is what it is.. I dont even really watch mens Futball unless its some huge game.
and I even played myself for about a decade.
/shrug


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## Tez3 (Dec 16, 2010)

LuckyKBoxer said:


> This conversation had nothing to do with the rest of his nonsense..
> I could care less about all of that. sounds like the guy is a jerk.. fine..
> the fact remains this was a dumb question, and was not what was even meant by asking the question... peopel just cant come straight forward and ask what they really wanted to ask..
> "Why did you award the game to a country that has criminilized and persecuted homosexuals?"
> ...


 
So it was a dumb question, did that mean he had to give a stupid and insulting jokey answer? Would you sink the level of someone asking stupid questions especially if in such a position as he has? He should be used to dealing with all sorts of questions by now and he should have answered it in a professional manner, it's what he's paid to do.

You may decide to watch women's football because they wear tighter shorts but again in his position representing the sport of football and being paid very handsomely to do so he should have again answered professionally. No one is paying you to represent many thousands of footballers, fans, clubs, countries etc so you can say what you like but he can't. It's not much to ask that he behaves professionally.


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## Touch Of Death (Dec 16, 2010)

Cryozombie said:


> That's why I'm glad I am not a woman. Or Liberal. *snicker snicker*
> 
> K, let the slams begin.


The prisons are full of men who were guided by their emotions.
Sean


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