In two weeks of quarantine I have read four books, eaten 12 pizzas, watched 2 full series on Netflix, and read so many news I that I have gotten sick and worried from them. And I have also played FIFA19 on Playstation, and have become quite fond of it: it took time to get the controls, and I am still not good enough to play on the highest level, but I have managed to win the Champions League playing with Valencia (I won the final on penalty kicks against Liverpool), the Danish Cup (with Brondby), and currently on second place in the Danish Superliga, with Brondby (behind FC Midtjylland).
I have only played online with a good friend (who was the main reason for me getting it), but I like the game a lot. It is much better than the original football sport, with all the disgusting people and sweat. On Playstation there is Artificial Intelligence, which at least denotes some intelligence that real football totally lacks.
Monday, March 30, 2020
Friday, March 20, 2020
Football suspended and Corona Virus
While I have not watched any football for a long time I could not help to notice that even the arrogant world of football, untouchable and innocent, has had to take into account the arrival of the Corona virus. Football all over the world has been suspended, with people not even knowing if the major leagues can be played to the end, or whether we will even have a Champions League final this year (so far it has been postponed one month). Both national team tournaments, the European Championship and the Copa America, have been postponed to 2021.
Maybe it will be possible to get tickets in UEFAs totally weird ticketing system....
Football is the least relevant of the victims of this virus that is hitting hard on the entire world. Personally I am stuck alone in a big house, alone in a country where I have no friends nor even a moment of comfort or a good laugh. I am frankly already sick of it, and have started daydreaming of the day when I will jump on a plane, see family and friends, and forget this period of my life.
In the meantime, as other people, I try to make time pass (I have even written again on this near-dead blog....!!), reading a lot of books and playing Playstation. I have even taken up Fifa19! (wow, maybe that will lead to another post in a few days!).
Stay safe and cool out there if anyone ever reads this.
Maybe it will be possible to get tickets in UEFAs totally weird ticketing system....
Football is the least relevant of the victims of this virus that is hitting hard on the entire world. Personally I am stuck alone in a big house, alone in a country where I have no friends nor even a moment of comfort or a good laugh. I am frankly already sick of it, and have started daydreaming of the day when I will jump on a plane, see family and friends, and forget this period of my life.
In the meantime, as other people, I try to make time pass (I have even written again on this near-dead blog....!!), reading a lot of books and playing Playstation. I have even taken up Fifa19! (wow, maybe that will lead to another post in a few days!).
Stay safe and cool out there if anyone ever reads this.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Fiction
It was the last match of Group 2 qualifier for the 2050 World Championship. Bulgaria was receiving Scotland at the Sofia Glorious People's Arena. The game was sold out despite the incidents in the previous match where eight fans of the visiting side had been killed (two of them lynched under the burning crosses outside the stadium), and which had led to a 500 Euro fine by UEFA, and the rule that no banners of the League for White Europeans would be allowed within 50 meters of the stadium.
Scotland's star player, Kwame McMurthy, had expressed that he did not want to go to Bulgaria: the previous year the Celtic striker Alastair Nsonowa had been incapacitated for life after a racist attack in the player-tunnel during a European match (this had led to a 100 Euro fine and two match suspension from online streaming). The threats were numerous and many right-wing fan groups (there were basically no other fan groups any longer) were openly displaying the weapons they planned to bring to the stadium under the resigned acceptance of authorities. A few Bulgarian newspapers even displayed large banners with pictures of the burning crosses from the previous match with the caption: "Welcome to OUR Sofia, Kwame".
Despite McMurthy's fear for his life, UEFA had publicly announced that his refusal to play the match would go against his contractual sponsor obligations, leading to a million Euro fine, McMurthy being disqualified from all football for life, and Scotland being banned from all football for ten years. The Scottish football federation had also asked that McMurthy be provided extra protection, but UEFA had said that they fully trusted the Bulgarian authorities to provide the necessary security.
Amid the widespread violence and death there are no news of the result of the match, but it is known that most of the Scottish players never played football again, and that after reiterating its commitment to fight racism in all its forms, UEFA fined Bulgaria 500 Euros and an unprecedented five matches were not to be streamed online.
But nothing helped, and within a few decades football was dead: Children and youth, growing up in a more diverse and tolerant society (if sadly not yet inclusive), massively turned away from a sport that seemed to accept that it had become the exclusive playground of ignorant racism, xenophobia, discrimination and violence.
And nobody shed a f...ing tear.
Scotland's star player, Kwame McMurthy, had expressed that he did not want to go to Bulgaria: the previous year the Celtic striker Alastair Nsonowa had been incapacitated for life after a racist attack in the player-tunnel during a European match (this had led to a 100 Euro fine and two match suspension from online streaming). The threats were numerous and many right-wing fan groups (there were basically no other fan groups any longer) were openly displaying the weapons they planned to bring to the stadium under the resigned acceptance of authorities. A few Bulgarian newspapers even displayed large banners with pictures of the burning crosses from the previous match with the caption: "Welcome to OUR Sofia, Kwame".
Despite McMurthy's fear for his life, UEFA had publicly announced that his refusal to play the match would go against his contractual sponsor obligations, leading to a million Euro fine, McMurthy being disqualified from all football for life, and Scotland being banned from all football for ten years. The Scottish football federation had also asked that McMurthy be provided extra protection, but UEFA had said that they fully trusted the Bulgarian authorities to provide the necessary security.
Amid the widespread violence and death there are no news of the result of the match, but it is known that most of the Scottish players never played football again, and that after reiterating its commitment to fight racism in all its forms, UEFA fined Bulgaria 500 Euros and an unprecedented five matches were not to be streamed online.
But nothing helped, and within a few decades football was dead: Children and youth, growing up in a more diverse and tolerant society (if sadly not yet inclusive), massively turned away from a sport that seemed to accept that it had become the exclusive playground of ignorant racism, xenophobia, discrimination and violence.
And nobody shed a f...ing tear.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Bulgarian disgust
Today I read about the dreadful match between Bulgaria and England, with the awful racist behaviour by Bulgarian fans. While I am happy that the English players decided to let the football talk by showing their superiority to the fifth rate Bulgarian side (just because of their lack of quality, personality and courage, every single player should be disqualified) by trashing them 0-6 on their own ugly soil, this remains unacceptable. I do not understand that UEFA at the same time say that they will "wage war on racists", while they can be in any doubt about the punishment: disqualify Bulgaria from all football for at least four years! This is doable and would send an important signal about UEFA's real commitment to fight racism, although I would go even farther and ban Bulgarian clubs and players from playing outside their own country (if they are so proud of it, why not...?).
Otherwise, this is just another example of football's disgusting appeal to the worst of humanity. The English players reacted the correct and gentlemanly way, but that is a rare exception in the game of football.
Otherwise, this is just another example of football's disgusting appeal to the worst of humanity. The English players reacted the correct and gentlemanly way, but that is a rare exception in the game of football.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
RIP 'Blue Girl'
Although I have all but abandoned football, the story of Sahar Khodayari ("Blue Girl"), really saddened me.
It saddened me because she was a young girl who saw no other way but to kill herself; it saddened me for the inaction of so many over so many years, for an outright violation that has existed for so long; it saddened me for the women and girls, all over the world, who are discriminated against because they are of the same sex as all our Mothers.
It saddened me because people die because of football and because of so many other irrelevant things.
It saddened me because she was a young girl who saw no other way but to kill herself; it saddened me for the inaction of so many over so many years, for an outright violation that has existed for so long; it saddened me for the women and girls, all over the world, who are discriminated against because they are of the same sex as all our Mothers.
It saddened me because people die because of football and because of so many other irrelevant things.
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