Qatar Bans Beer Sales at World Cup Stadiums: Would Anheuser-Busch be Wrong to Withdraw Sponsorship?

I'm boycotting this world cup given Taliban-sympathising Qatar are hosting it and our government are apologising for them, which is a shame as we have a (very slight) shot at winning for the first time since 1966.

The Qatar GP in F1 was another sport sticking point for me, only rivalled by the Abu Dhabi and Saudi ones, at least they cancelled the Russian GP..

Putin wasn't too impressed I think when Hamilton sprayedchampagne over him around 2015..

 
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I think chronology is key here.
'[Commercial] Television in America does not exist to deliver programs to viewers.
It exists to deliver audiences to advertisers.' a top CBS-TV executive
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- If beverage ethanol is totally banned in Qatar, and
- Anheuser-Busch committed to the sponsorship knowing that their products would be banned at the event, but
- Anheuser-Busch committed to the sponsorship anyway,
then I think withdrawing sponsorship would be improper.

What I suspect happened was Anheuser-Busch committed to the sponsorship assuming they could sell their wares at the event. But after the sponsorship commitment, Qatar was chosen as the site.

I'm guessing if that's the case Anheuser-Busch did not have an escape clause in the sponsorship contract, and therefore may be contractually obliged to not reneg. BUT !!

What if it's a 10 year sponsorship contract? Should Anheuser-Busch be required to sponsor it for a decade, even if their products are prohibited there?

Seems to me the escape clause is Anheuser-Busch's salvation, in future sponsorship agreements. But what about in Qatar in this case?
 
From what I've read elsewhere Qatar had agreed to allow alcohol sales but did an about face after being awarded the World Cup. Since Budweiser has a $70 million contract with FIFA it's just a matter of time before the lawsuits begin.

On a related note - Qatar is not allowing unmarried couples to share a hotel room.
 
Thanks S2.
You've got me wondering, what married couples will have their marriage certificate with them to attend the competition?

Turning away paying customers is bad for bidness. So instead of renting the couple a room, rent two separate rooms? I'm trying to imagine the enforcement protocol. Seems to me like a plan designed for bribery, some extra cash for the hotel desk clerk.
 
Qatar openly used slaves to build the stadium

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t #7
I gather not all 6,500 were employed in construction of the stadium. But it does raise some obvious question about priorities: selling beer is prohibited, but killing off workers by the thousands is OK ?
 
The Qatari government spent nearly £440,000 buttering up British MPs in the decade leading up to the World Cup by hosting them in the repressive gulf state, openDemocracy can reveal.

Over the last ten years, MPs have made at least 78 trips to Qatar that were funded by the country’s Foreign Ministry or its embassy in London, including 15 trips costing nearly £76,000 in 2022 and 23 trips costing more than £173,000 in 2021.

The country’s guests have included Conservative minister Nadhim Zahawi, backbencher Rory Stewart and Labour’s Chris Bryant.
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It's not surprising that Tory 'good guy' Rory Stewart is included.
 
- alright -
I don't want anybody to think I've flopped over to the dark side. But as a practical matter high ranking government officials have an intrinsic diplomatic role. And while some of it might be all glitz and glamor, some of it's no better than the Southern end of a Northbound diuretic cow.
I'm not making excuses for Rory Stewart. Perhaps he just wanted the window seat on the airliner.
But in general it's not essential to sip champagne with stalwart allies. It's the diplomatic fist-bump between Biden and bin Salman that grates on the conscience. Reductio ad absurdum: Stalin was a U.S. ally during WWII. "Politics makes strange bedfellows." Shakespearish
 
sear said:
some of it's no better than the Southern end of a Northbound diuretic cow.
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Our transport system has gone to pot - don't be surprised if you hear that in train announcements soon. :)

Seriously though. this isn't diplomacy it looks more like corruption. The idea that we are supportive of them holding the world cup is horrifying. That said, they could be a useful ally against Russia - BTW they profit from the continuing war on Ukraine because people are turning to them fror their natural resources. The war is actually profitable to them.

It's surprising to see you defending trips which were probably gifted to them - and other nice things lavished on them as as form of diplomacy. How is that diplomacy? What talks did they actually conduct? What progress did they make wrt diplomatic relations? Answers on the back of a postcard please. I'd like to see what they have to show for these gifts of trips lavished on them with all expense paid dinners etc. These Tories are pathologically incapable of dealing in anything other than corruption, or so it seems, so I don't for one second give them the benefiot of the doubt, why should I after the Johnson years? Would you do the same for Donald Trump? Come now.

When the war is over we should make sure to try and bankrupt them just like we should fuck their rivals in the gulf states like Saudi, UAE etc.

BTW:

U.S. Says FIFA Officials Were Bribed to Award World Cups to Russia and Qatar​

For nearly a decade, Russia and Qatar have been suspected of buying votes to win hosting rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. On Monday, for the first time, the Department of Justice put things in black and white.
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Borg Refinery said:
this isn't diplomacy it looks more like corruption. The idea that we are supportive of them holding the world cup is horrifying. That said, they could be a useful ally against Russia - BTW they profit from the continuing war on Ukraine because people are turning to them fror their natural resources. The war is actually profitable to them.
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I'm not dismissing the corruption issue.
But you've exposed your own s a v v y by citing the underlying politics.
This renders down "the carrot & stick approach", what behaviorist B.F. Skinner called positive & negative reinforcement. Reward the positive, punish the negative.

So the "civilized" West has tossed the Islamist barbarians a bone, something that doesn't matter (soccer, aka "football"). It's what passes for "a carrot" in international relations.
What remains to be seen is where it goes from here.
- Will the West tolerate this, so they don't have to deal so tolerantly with Islam on issues regarded as more important by Western policy makers, like nuclear proliferation, etc.?
- Or will the West cite this as an example of why the West can stiff-arm Islam for the foreseeable future?
Shiftless2 said:
That's been common knowledge for a long time. I'm just amazed (amused?) that it's taken this long for the Dep't of Justice to act on it.
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Indeed. Two possible explanations:
- Either they're so daft, ill-informed they've only just heard of it, - OR -
- they've known, but for reasons of diplomatic pragmatism delayed reaction until their action trigger reached critical mass.

I'm a $U.S. $tax $payer, so I'd prefer to believe the latter. BUT !! ...
 
This is sick as fuck but kind of on the theme..

Saudi-Gay-Pride-Puzzle-750x500.jpg

Calling it a momentous step towards recognition of the LGBTQ+ community, Saudi Arabia announced that all homosexuals executed during pride month would be hung from a rainbow noose or beheaded with a rainbow-colored ax.
Though human rights activists said much further process remains necessary, the announcement marks a major step forward for gay equality in the kingdom.
“We have a thriving gay community here in Saudi Arabia, and this is our way of recognizing and celebrating it,” Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman told The Mideast Beast.
Though gay citizens face oppression throughout the region, many Middle Eastern regimes have marked Pride Month by incorporating the rainbow flag. Even ISIS has released a rainbow version of its classic black-and-white emblem.
“We certainly believe that homosexuality betrays the will of Allah and will immediately put to death anyone we suspect of being gay,” ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi explained. “At the same time, we felt that completely ignoring pride month and not changing our logo to a rainbow would be perceived as a bit too aggressive.”
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No doubt Gianni Infantile-o can put the boot in for gays to kick out homophobia from football once and for all!
 
BR #14
Your constructive insights are welcome here. The potty-mouth is not.

What you may find is that vulgar vocabulary is an inadequate substitute for forceful, persuasive self-expression. Expression by metaphor in general is a recipe for being misunderstood. Rather than "sick as ...", might you have meant:
- unprincipled?
- mentally deficient?
- amoral?
I can't be certain. If you'll indulge the metaphor here, please leave barnyard terminology in the barnyard.

BR #16
Amen. Such misunderstanding is a substantial risk in posting satire.
 
"Hi, This is Mike, I'm calling from Wet Look Gel Your Crotch and Make a Quiff With Your Pubes I.T. Recruitment Services Limited, just like to ask you a few questions about your love life?"

"This is a Sunday night! Do you think I'm silly?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely!"


(18:43 in)

 
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