Notes on Football and Al Jazeera

This post is largely a response to a comment made by Faisal to this post on the African Cup.

Faisal's comment:

Anti-Egyptian or not, Al Jazeera is more non-biased than any Egyptian news or Tv channel (Public ones I mean).

They are also one of the only decent Arabic news channels.

Furthermore, Ahmed Shobeir is a pompous fool who thinks the world of himself. This is a man who kept criticizing Hassan Shehata so much that Mubarak told him to shut it... and of course, being the government dog that he is, he Shut Up.

I will not, of course, deny that what Mido did was inappropriate in every way.

My response:

I don't know how I am supposed to explain the concept of constructive criticism when you think in terms of this slave/master mentality. Before the final, and on national television, Ahmed Shobeir denied these critical statements attributed to the president by the media, and no - he did not "shut it": he continued in the same line of commentary that he had made before. The national team - being Hassan Shehata and the players - were the first to proclaim, after they had won the championship, that they succeeded not because they were better players than those of the other teams (they actually gave statements to the contrary), but because of good planning and determination.

I thought Shobeir's commentary was intelligent and most welcome. What, would you rather have him sing the "mabrouk aleikom we aleina" song before and after every match? (Much like our own government?) Shehata succeeded because he was objective and critical, in other words; professional. Our government on the other hand is failing because it is the opposite of these traits.

As for your statements regarding Al Jazeera, I disagree entirely. Your argument would be like saying that Mussolini was a good man because he killed less people than Hitler. But even on this dubious ground your argument still does not stand: tell me of one time that Al Jazeera, this alleged pan-Arab and Islamic channel, dared to criticize the Qatari government which hosts one of the largest American military bases outside the United States. The Egyptian alleged "opposition press" on the other hand has clearly crossed the line from useful criticism into the realm of the plain vulgar - an unfortunate reality in itself.

For this reason it is not easy to challenge the argument that Al Jazeera is a farce; a dangerous play-toy of political leverage in the hands of the blatantly pro-American and pro-Israeli, duplicitous Qatari government.

On a side note:

I can't believe that Giddo Hossam Hassan gave the following statements of ingratitude, according to the Egyptian Gazette:

Egypt's super-star and formerly the world's most capped player, in an interview with a Gulf-based newspaper, Hossam Hassan said he would prefer an international manager for Egypt's National Football Team to take over from Hassan Shehata in order to prepare the squad for their upcoming fixtures.

Hassan pointed out that only the players' fighting spirit and unending support of fans were behind the success in the recent African Cup of Nations.

On the work of their chief coach, Hassan Shehata, the veteran striker said the time has come for the country's football governing body to consider replacing him with a new manager with an international reputation.

Regarding the move of the Tottenham Hotspur's Ahmed Hossam 'Mido' to protest against his substitution in the semi-final against Senegal, Hassan said there was nothing wrong in that.

"I think what Mido has done was justifiable. He is an international player and full of love and enthusiasm. I used to do the same when I was young, but not against the coaches," he said.

I appreciate the important role in the brief moments played by the 40ish year old Hassan, thanks to the appropriate and suitable timing chosen by the coach for him to hit the field, but I can only agree with "Mr. A. A.", the sports editor's concluding words:

Hassan is reminded that these matters are best left to the decision-makers because they know better than him.

Amen.