Which players and teams have disappointed our expert panel most this year? And what larger issues within the game ground their gears?
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00:00I think now you've brought in football governing bodies, this is probably a good time for me to
00:03have a little bit of a rant. I mean, normally as host I let our guests do the talking, but
00:07I'm going to get on my soapbox for once in my life, just as a bit of an end of year treat.
00:11There are a lot of unpleasant things to be said about FIFA and the way they handle the
00:15international game, but for me, the awarding of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia is
00:20a huge disgrace and the biggest problem of the year and something that I think will hang over
00:24football's head for years to come. And it's not only the fact that it's happened that bothers me,
00:28but the opposition to it from member nations has been non-existent and that bothers me too.
00:33Only the Norwegian FA refused to nominate Saudi Arabia, despite the fact that a recent
00:37study was released suggesting that as many as 21,000 migrant workers have been killed
00:42in Saudi Arabia since 2016 working on their so-called Giga projects. Amnesty International
00:48has simply said that people will die as a result of this World Cup because they're going to be
00:52constructing all these huge shiny new stadiums, much like they did in Qatar, and they are almost
00:56certainly going to be exploiting and abusing migrant workers. Furthermore, it's yet another
01:01World Cup hosted in a country where LGBTQ plus life is criminalised and in which the host nation
01:06stands accused of imprisoning, torturing and even murdering political dissidents and journalists.
01:11So to me, it's simply a disgrace that the World Cup should not only be hosted there,
01:15but also be weighed through so readily by the FA and by 209 other member nations apart from Norway
01:21who didn't stand up and say anything. I don't want it to come across as if I disrespect the
01:25ordinary people of Saudi Arabia or the country's very rich historical footballing tradition.
01:30And in other circumstances, with different rulership, with different behaviour from them,
01:35and in a safer environment, both for construction workers and potentially for travelling LGBTQ plus
01:40fans, I'd be thrilled for the country to get this tournament. But as it is, I am just appalled and
01:44I'm appalled at the FA for supporting it, even if it was just politely applauding as instructed to
01:50do by Gianni Infantino the other day. I don't know, am I right to be so upset by this? I'm
01:56going to put this at you two and see your thoughts as well. So apologies for throwing quite a heavy
02:00subject at you. I mean, George, have you got any thoughts on the decision to host the World Cup in
02:05Saudi Arabia? Am I sort of too concerned? Is this a good thing for football that it's being brought
02:11to new horizons, like the Middle East would never have been considered as a venue for football
02:15tournaments before Infantino's reign, I suspect? Or am I right to be so bothered by it?