While normal Americans were busy with food and family, woke stupidity was still as plentiful as side dishes at a Thanksgiving dinner at the 2022 World Cup.
A tournament mired in controversy from the beginning saw more unfold over the past four days of action, so buckle up as we give you a quick recap of the notable headlines:
England Players Kneel Before Match With U.S.
Kneeling has been an integral part of most domestic matches in the English Premier League (EPL) - England’s top domestic soccer league - since 2020. While EPL clubs have largely forgone the gesture this season, it comes as no surprise that a national team made largely of EPL stars would take a knee before a World Cup match, which is precisely what England did.
Members of the Three Lions could be seen taking a knee before their fixture with the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) on Friday, which ended in a 0-0 draw. The move was to promote anti-discrimination and mock FIFA, since the organization prevented all countries from wearing the “One Love” armbands ahead of matches (which made them upset). It would be nice if these athletes cared as much about their play as they did protesting.
Which brings us to the next story…
Eden Hazard Blasts Germany For Protest, Says They Should Have Focused On Football
Before Germany shockingly lost 2-1 to Japan last Wednesday in their first group match, they took a page out of England’s playbook. Every German player on the pitch was seen covering their mouths as a protest to FIFA after the tournament’s organizers banned the “One Love” armband ban.
Hazard, Belgium’s captain, took issue with Germany’s actions and rightfully criticized them for focusing more on being social justice warriors than a competent team in soccer’s biggest tournament.
“Afterwards they lost the match. They would have done better not to do it and to win,” the Red Devils winger aptly stated. “We are here to play football, I am not here to send a political message, people are better placed for that. We want to be focused on football.”
While Hazard and Belgium’s football-first mindset has not automatically brought them the results they desired (they lost 2-0 to Morocco yesterday and currently sit third in their group), his stance on what his team’s purpose - and every team’s for that matter - is at this tournament could not be more accurate.
These elite soccer players should be more focused on winning games than trying to cause unnecessary trouble on the sport's biggest stage. Their endless stunts are getting old, and the frequency of such protests is ruining any meaning they had in the first place. It's safe to assume that every sports team promotes woke values, so just stop acting like children and play the game.
But the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) has other ideas…
USSF Takes Subtle Jab At Iran Ahead Of Critical Group Stage Match
The USSF posted a social media graphic on Friday that showed the Group B standings after its second day of matches (the U.S. currently sit third and will need to beat Iran on Tuesday to advance). While at first blush this seems like a standard social media post, there was an undeniable message hidden in the graphic’s artistic choices.
The graphic showed each country’s flag, but for Iran’s they erased the Islamic Republic crest from the flag’s design, which was incorporated after the Mullah revolution in 1979. The graphic left the flag displaying three horizontal stripes of green, white, and red (top to bottom). A statement said that this move, which was kept on social media accounts for 24 hours and has since been changed, was intended to show their “support for the women of Iran.”
As if a match that determines the World Cup fate of two countries that have been at war with each other for two decades and that ideologically despise each other needs any more added fuel for the fire…
Iran was furious to say the least when they discovered this gesture and called for FIFA to suspend the U.S., citing a rule that prevents one country from shaming another.
“According to section 13 of #FIFA rules, any person who offends the dignity or integrity of a country, a person or group of people… shall be sanctioned with a suspension lasting at least ten matches or a specific period, or any other appropriate disciplinary measure,” Iran’s state-affiliated media Tasnim News Agency wrote on Twitter.
If that were the case, there would be a lot of teams that should be kicked out of the World Cup for protesting against Qatar. But I digress.
“They must be held responsible. Obviously they want to affect Iran’s performance against the US by doing this,” Iranian Football Federation advisor Safiollah Fagahanpour said, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.
While the USMNT had nothing to do with this, this incident perfectly characterizes the attitude that permeates U.S. soccer culture and has been personified in the USMNT.
Since the U.S. have set foot in Qatar, they have behaved like your stereotypical group of woke athletes: acting like they have proven themselves at the highest level, that the whole world revolves around them, and they can stick their nose up at everyone because they care about promoting justice.
Related: Lamar Odom: Phoenix Suns Gorilla Mascot Is Racist
Well I’ve got news for the USMNT: you’ve done nothing worth celebrating.
Sure, they fought to a scoreless draw against England, but they dropped two crucial points in their first match against Wales and now face a motivated and confident Iranian squad that will not show a shred of mercy to them on the pitch tomorrow, even if they didn’t pull this stunt.
Now, with their World Cup hopes on the line and with nothing guaranteed, they piss off a team made of individuals who represent a country that hates everything to do with America?
If the U.S. loses their match tomorrow - which they very well could give how they have shown a lack of goal-scoring ability - they’ll deserve it and every bit of humiliation that will come their way.
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— MRCTV (@mrctv) November 27, 2022