Qatar

MARTIN SAMUEL - CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: Make-up men didn't seem to attract the attention of security guards the way make-up ladies did.

To the matches, to the tickets, to the broadcast packages, to the products. No quibbles about beer not being freely available in a Muslim country, but its connection to zero arrests for England fans at the World Cup is rather overplayed. So when he orbits a World Cup parroting vapid platitudes about focusing on football and affording the governing body ill-gotten credibility, it is an unfortunate act of selfharm. He was The Professor, he was a brain; smart, urbane, respected for his intellect and manner. They even got to cloak Messi as one of their own, wrapped in a bisht, a traditional ceremonial robe, by the Emir on the podium, as the creep Infantino grinned and genuflected. Think of the backlash against the Super League. That is the local supremacy Saudi Arabia is desperate to regain. If you’ve been out here, think of the young, female volunteers stationed on the Metro, in the streets, at the stadiums. Not if a woman in sight of the VIPs causes offence. Football just needs to say NO to the hideous Gianni Infantino and his FIFA henchmen It meant admitting that the battle to make FIFA acknowledge their role in the human cost, morally or financially, was largely lost. To get a kick out of Qatar’s World Cup meant ignoring the subtle inconsistencies happening right under your nose.