Controversial PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi has used the Russian invasion of Ukraine to take a swipe at Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus.
As much as fans love the beautiful game, there’s no denying that money has a huge part to play in the political side of the sport. This year’s World Cup will take place in Qatar in November and December, and it isn’t just the drastic schedule change that has caught the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
As per Amnesty International, abused migrants have had to build a state of the art stadium. They are not allowed to change jobs, can’t leave Qatar, and have to wait for months to receive payment. In contrast, FIFA is making huge profits.
However, the controversy doesn’t stop there. Prosecutors have tabled multiple allegations of bribes being paid to FIFA executive committee members. They supposedly received these offers to vote for the Middle Eastern country to host the tournament. But this isn’t the first time the governing body has found itself in hot water.
On 14 September 2020, the PSG President, who is also the delegate of the UEFA executive committee, faced charges alongside FIFA’s Jerome Valcke. The allegations were linked to corruption in the allocation of World Cup television rights. Furthermore, they addressed Valcke receiving rent-free use of a holiday home on the Italian island of Sardinia. A Qatari company purchased the property in question with the help of Al-Khelaifi in 2013.
But despite his past indiscretions, the President of the French club has hurled an extreme insult in the direction of three of Europe’s premier clubs.
Read: Holland boss Louis Van Gaal finally breaks his silence on ‘Bull s**t’ Qatar World Cup.
What did Nasser Al-Khelaifi say about Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid?
Vladimir Putin sending an army to invade Ukraine has grasped the attention of media outlets around the globe. And shockingly, Al-Khelaifi has taken his opportunity to link the attack to the proposed European Super League.
As per The BBC, he said: “People are dying in Ukraine, with nowhere to sleep, and they [Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus] are still fighting about the Super League. They have no long-term vision. All they do is wave pieces of paper, forgetting football is more than just legal contracts.”
Due to his ties with UEFA, it’s unsurprising the Qatari is against the proposal of the Super League. But the 48-year-old has gone too far with his comparison. And fans have taken to Reddit to discuss how nonsensical his dig was.
How fans reacted to the comments
One person said: “Al-Khelaifi, the humanitarian. These elites are totally tone-deaf.”
While another user wrote: “What the f**k is he on about, and what does the super league have to do with Ukraine? Like one could then argue that’ here we have the war in Ukraine and the PSG president is upset with the VAR for losing against Real Madrid in CL’.”
A third individual sarcastically typed: “Yes, every precious second a football club spends defending the Super League or some other spurious economic interest is a second not spent defending Ukraine from the Russian onslaught.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty
