Disappointing, Gibbons...disappointing!

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Disappointing, Gibbons...disappointing!
Right in the face!!![]()
One slap coming up....
Right in the face!!
That's right....
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It was a different Gianni Infantino, a more pensive Gianni Infantino, a less alarmingly excited Gianni Infantino who addressed Hall 1 at the Qatar National Convention Centre on Friday morning.
This had been the scene of Infantino’s own defining moment just a month ago, his sacking of the temple, his Woodstock, his I have (a Very Peculiar) Dream. Brusquely late, Infantino was all business this time. “I am … happy … to be here,” he kicked off in a descending tone as though announcing the imminent execution of a colony of wasps. “Has this World Cup been a massive success?” he was asked from the floor. No, Gianni demurred very sightly. It had, in fact, been “an incredible success”.
Mainly he talked numbers: 3.27 million spectators; 1.7 million in the fan zone, a billion dollars in excess profits, $11bn in projected profits for next time.
He talked love, he talked joy, he talked (could this be a simple misunderstanding? Does he just need to look this phrase up?) about human rights. Above all Infantino was “very, very happy” at the progress of his World Cup. Put your hands together and rejoice, cheer, be thankful. Rejoice, even though your name is death.
Because the fact is some numbers were missing from Infantino’s podium notes; some usefully vague numbers that feel as if they are now on their way to being buried in plain sight.
The total number of migrant worker deaths during the 12-year cycle of Qatar’s World Cup has oscillated from three to 6,500, from 400 to 37. The New York Times reported just before the tournament that Nepal had calculated 2,000 deaths, including 200 suicides, a genuinely heartbreaking detail, albeit one that must, as ever, be degraded by Qatar’s bizarre absence of hard data.
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But the fact remains Fifa had choices here. And Fifa chose death and suffering. Look back with a clear line of sight and from the moment Fifa made its bid decision there was only one route from there to here. Define corporate manslaughter. What does that crime look or feel like as a chain of events? It is another question that has not been asked enough.
Let me think....yes....you had to post HIM with Messi?