A matter of respect
The spectacle finale – the highlights in the video
Argentina wins one of the most spectacular World Cup finals in history. France saves with a crazy comeback to penalties. There Lionel Messi crowns his extraordinary career. The highlights in the video.
The FIFA boss and the Emir of Qatar steal the show from Lionel Messi and his Argentinian team in the moment of great World Cup luck. All honor to the host’s gesture, but the stage belongs to the honoree, not the honoree.
Dhe last impression is always a lasting one. So what remains after this World Cup in Qatar, after this grandiose final that Argentina defeated France on penalties after 120 thrilling minutes? Unfortunately also an award ceremony, which could have been as epochal as the final before, if two gentlemen hadn’t used the ceremony for their own purposes.
Argentina manages to win the World Cup for the first time in 36 years – and then Lionel Messi, one of the best footballers ever, manages his impressive career with the long-awaited World Cup victory in his fifth World Cup appearance crown. But what are Gianni Infantino, the controversial boss of the world association Fifa, and Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, doing? They capture the sublime, beautiful moment of the trophy handover and steal the show from the Argentina team and their captain.
First, the Emir thinks he has to put a black cloak on the surprised captain before the trophy is handed over. That “Bisht”, as he is called, who will now be seen forever on so many pictures of Argentina’s World Cup victory and will be a reminder of the tournament in Qatar. And then Infantino ran after Messi like a dachshund instead of letting him take the stage.
A Seppelhut by Horst Koehler …
With all due respect to the gesture of the host. But it would have been easy to hand over the gift later and let Messi celebrate in his national shirt. Because it is a question of respect to leave the stage to someone who has just achieved something grandiose, who is intoxicated by the greatest triumph of his career. You take yourself back first. But it fit into the image of this World Cup, which was not just about football, but also about putting the hosts, who were criticized not only for human rights violations, in the right light.
In the presence of the Emir of Qatar, Lionel Messi (r.) is presented with the World Cup trophy by Fifa boss Gianni Infantino (l.) in a black cape, a “Bisht”.
Quelle: Getty Images/Dan Mullan
Just imagine that in 2006 the then Federal President Horst Koehler had suddenly squeezed into leather trousers and a Seppelhut when the World Cup was handed over to the Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro in the Berlin Olympic Stadium. That too would have been excessive and inappropriate.
