Qatar 2022 Opening Ceremony and Some Football MDT

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the sex ghost: Sep 6, 2009

The big kick off is only a matter of hours away. Qatar play Ecuador in our opening match, which will end 1-0 to Qatar if recent allegations are to be believed. That match kicks off at 4:00pm UK time and some other time if you don't live here. Before then we have approximately 15 hours of opening ceremonies. You will see:

-Robbie Williams
-Pitbull probably
-A load of weird light shows and cirque du soleil stuff
-The emptiest stands you've ever seen

This is the thread for posting posts like 'lol' 'Qraptar' 'holky poo poo what a goal' 'can anyone post a 240p Arabic stream with unmutable chat window for the authentic football viewing experience' and so on.

# ? Nov 20, 2022 11:59

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# ? May 5, 2024 13:55

Dirk Pitt: Sep 14, 2007; haha yes, this feels good; Toilet Rascal

Qraptar

# ? Nov 20, 2022 12:04

the sex ghost: Sep 6, 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyDjFVZgJoo

Currently blasting this at full volume

# ? Nov 20, 2022 12:05

ilmucche: Mar 16, 2016

No pitbull nooooo

# ? Nov 20, 2022 12:05

Dirk Pitt: Sep 14, 2007; haha yes, this feels good; Toilet Rascal

Pretty sure this is a cumtown bit

# ? Nov 20, 2022 12:06

Failed Imagineer: Sep 22, 2018

Dirk Pitt posted:

Pretty sure this is a cumtown bit

Also a decent Shania Twain song

Qatar/catarrh is a buildup of mucus

# ? Nov 20, 2022 12:20

Tortuga: Aug 27, 2011; Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

I hope Ecuador win 69-0 and all kiss each other on the lips.

# ? Nov 20, 2022 12:23

Insurrectionist: May 21, 2007

My willpower is weak so I will probably watch some world cup but I will NOT be watching today OP, and frankly I hope Infantino falls off some sort of stage in a homage to Sepp

# ? Nov 20, 2022 12:30

Total Meatlove: Jan 28, 2007; Rangers died, shoujo Hitler cried ;_;

Praying for some kind of comedy Qatari own goal that means the Ecuador fix will have to be even more blatant

# ? Nov 20, 2022 12:32

Shrapnig: Jan 21, 2005

This is the least excited I've ever been for a World Cup and I think it's because instead of giving us extra football it's taking away from the good football.

# ? Nov 20, 2022 12:52

Jippa: Feb 13, 2009

Shrapnig posted:

This is the least excited I've ever been for a World Cup and I think it's because instead of giving us extra football it's taking away from the good football.

I was just listening to FW's previews of the groups. It actually got me into it more hearing about hyped brasil/argentina fans are both thinking they will win it etc.

# ? Nov 20, 2022 12:57

Loving Africa Chaps: Dec 3, 2007; We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

I am oddly compelled to see how many penalties Ecuador concede

# ? Nov 20, 2022 13:48

Loving Africa Chaps: Dec 3, 2007; We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Maybe this is why keys turned up early

https://twitter.com/seaningle/status/1594311638328418305?t=Y1nTNFv6fo6NmTWlXhfceg&s=19

# ? Nov 20, 2022 14:42

Jose: Jul 24, 2007; Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster and writer

Jippa posted:

I was just listening to FW's previews of the groups. It actually got me into it more hearing about hyped brasil/argentina fans are both thinking they will win it etc.

Well now I'm hyped if neither do

# ? Nov 20, 2022 14:44

the sex ghost: Sep 6, 2009

Loving Africa Chaps posted:

Maybe this is why keys turned up early

https://twitter.com/seaningle/status/1594311638328418305?t=Y1nTNFv6fo6NmTWlXhfceg&s=19

12 years of preparation folks

# ? Nov 20, 2022 14:49

ilmucche: Mar 16, 2016

12 years of preparation and what a great experience it will be (for the VIPs and delegates while the filthy plebs can dessicate in the sun)

# ? Nov 20, 2022 14:56

chaoslord: Jan 28, 2009; Nature Abhors A Vacuum

Ref Chat

Referee: Daniele ORSATO (ITA)
AR1: Ciro Carbone (ITA)
AR2: Alessandro Giallatini (ITA)
Fourth Official: Istvan Kovacs (ROU)
Fifth Official: Mihai Artene (ROU)
VAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
AVAR (1): Paolo Valeri (ITA)
Offside AVAR (2):Tomasz Listkiewicz (POL)
Support AVAR (3): Benoit Millot (FRA)
Stand-by Offside AVAR (4): Pawel Sokolnicki (POL)

That's a lot of refs. I have no idea why that many VARs are needed though. I get the theory - VAR can be checking something and can tap in AVAR1 for fouls/misconduct/etc and AVAR2 for offside, using their help to come to a decision, while AVAR3 watches the live feed to make sure a fight doesnt start or whatever while the others are reviewing something, but there doesn't need to be a second offside VAR and the odds of this kind of situations happening seem vanishingly small to me. Still, I guess they brought 129 refs so this is their way of making sure everyone is in a slot somewhere.

Orsato is a pretty safe pair of hands. He did the Champions League final in 2020 between PSG and Bayern Munich He was a VAR at the last world cup. At Euro 2020, he did England / Croatia, Spain / Poland, and Ukraine / Sweden. He didn't go very deep in Euro 2020 but I think he was being saved for a later match and then the Italians kept winning so they couldn't use him. In this seasons champions league, he did City's 2-1 win over Dortmund, Frankfurt and Spurs drawing 0-0, Leipzig beating Real Madrid 3-2, and Porto beating Atletico Madrid 2-1. All that is to say: if you've been around, you've seen Orsato around.

From the numbers I can find, across the 13 games he has done this season in all competitions, he has 50 yellow cards and a single red, a second yellow in a Serie A match, with 2 PKs. I'll leave it to folks who have watched more Serie A than me to correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me in the few matches I have seen him that he has backed away from giving a lot of yellows this season that he might have previously - my guess is he's been kind of "tuning up" for the World Cup where we typically will see more things let go in the name of "man management".

As far as I can tell he doesn't have a lot of controversy like some longer time refs ( :rip:

Cuneyt Cakir, you were a really good referee and then you got on FIFA's bad side) - the biggest match anyone I've found points to was a 2019 Champions League game between United and PSG that had 10 yellows and a red late on for Pogba. I think today will probably go pretty smoothly for Orsato given the relative ease of this game on paper and that he'll be well positioned for a later round game. Of course, I would have thought the same thing about Nishimura in 2014 (relative to "well set up for later round", obviously that game was much more difficult) and, well.... sometimes things happen. But surely this game will not be competitive enough for a problem like that to arise again.

This appointment for the opener was, supposedly, a bit of an internal fight. It sounds like a lot of people at FIFA wanted Stephanie Frappart, one of the women officials at the tournament, to have the opener. The RefComm won out in the end though. That said, the three most powerful people are the RefComm are an Italian, a Qatari, and a Brazlian, and, wouldn't you know it, the first four matches are going to be refereed by an Italian, a Qatari, and two Brazilians. So, on the one hand, applause for the RefComm for sticking up and saying "No" to FIFA for trying to force Frappart onto this (Frappart is fine, but she wasn't deserving of the opening game imo), but on the other hand... come on. I would have hoped Pierluigi Collina of all people would have been above such obvious games but apparently not.

Anywho, today should be fine from a refereeing perspective. Tomorrow could be a trainwreck with a referee who is only here because he is from the host nation gets an early important game and a Brazilian who is fine but also probably shouldn't be here gets out there, too.

# ? Nov 20, 2022 14:57

webmeister: Jan 31, 2007; The answer is, mate, because I want to do you slowly. There has to be a bit of sport in this for all of us. In the psychological battle stakes, we are stripped down and ready to go. I want to see those ashen-faced performances; I want more of them. I want to be encouraged. I want to see you squirm.