Chelsea F.C. goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has launched an angry attack on FIFA, insisting the controversial decision to play the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in the summer was ‘crazy.’
The former Australia international, 42, has called for FIFA to ban summer football in the Gulf State, but cautioned that one, two, or three people may have to “drop dead” before the game’s governing body acted.
Schwarzer, who was forced to play a World Cup qualifier in Doha in 2009, said: “You have to stop playing games at that time of year.
“It’ll only happen once probably, not one person, but two or three people drop dead. It’s ridiculous. It really is ridiculous to play at that time of year.
“I don’t even know why there is a debate. They [Fifa] had a committee go out there and say it’s not safe to play that time of year but they still award it [the World Cup].”
In describing the conditions he encountered three years ago, the 42-year-old added: “It’s hard to concentrate. Physically, it has a huge, huge impact on you and it takes you days and days to recover from it. It’s a really big ordeal.
“Most of the people actually leave their country at that time of year or go on holiday at that time of year because it is so hot.
“But Fifa decides it’s OK to play football matches there, which is crazy.”
Schwarzer also took a parting shot at FIFA president Sepp Blatter, and expectedly so.
Regarding his lost faith in FIFA under the regime of Mr. Blatter, Schwarzer concluded: “That’s the biggest disappointment as a player and as somebody who’s very passionate about football.
“It’s such a shame to see it run like it’s being run, with no little trust.”
The Solution
Now then, the unbearable summer conditions in Qatar will likely lead to the 2022 World Cup being played in the winter months.
FIFA’s preferred option seems to be a competition starting in November and ending in December.
However, because many European leagues have adopted a ‘winter break,’ a January-February competition may be more logical.
Once again, we encounter another problem: the latter option would infringe on the Winter Olympics.
The solution? Move the Winter Olympics to accommodate the World Cup, as proposed by Europe’s top football clubs earlier this week.
On one side, the European Club Association has contended the Winter Olympics do not deserve to be unaffected at the expense of “one of the major events in the sports landscape.”
On the other side, the International Olympic Committee claims Blatter has already given “assurances” that there would be no rift between the two competitions.
To put it mildly, the situation is a cluster (you know what), and only time will tell what the end result will be.
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