USMNT World Cup Daily, Day 5

It's not about the beer. It's about Qatar's rulers running this World Cup, and FIFA can't do anything about it.

On Friday, Qatar’s rulers quashed the sale of alcoholic beer inside and outside of World Cup stadiums (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

DOHA, Qatar — Do you really think Qatar’s authoritarian rulers just decided today—two days before the start of the World Cup—that they weren’t going to allow alcoholic beer to be served in World Cup stadiums? I sure don’t.

But what I do know is the big take-away isn’t about beer at all. It’s that FIFA is not in control of this World Cup. Qatar’s rulers are, and that makes anything we’ve heard from FIFA or national federations speaking about, say, how Qatari security forces will treat LGBTQ visitors here should be regarded as meaningless.

So, FIFA and national federations: Don’t speak about how you’re told that everything will be OK. You really don’t know for sure, and the Qataris go out of their way not to be reassuring.

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