The World Cup has been staged in controversial places before, but the build-up to this tournament feels messy in a very different way.
Omar Artan has been denied entry to the United States and will no longer officiate at the tournament. Ticket prices have sparked major concern, while Iraq striker Aymen Hussein was reportedly held by customs for seven hours this week.
There is always noise before a World Cup, especially when politics sits close to the tournament. But Alan Shearer believes the number of off-pitch issues this time is worse than anything he can remember.
Alan Shearer says World Cup controversies are an awful look
The referee situation in particular has left many people angry, with Ian Wright saying US soccer fans must be embarrassed by the chaos around the tournament.
Now Shearer has added his own criticism. Speaking on The Rest Is Football, the former England striker said the combination of Artan’s case, ticket prices and wider disruption has become impossible to ignore.
“It’s an awful look. It’s a terrible look, as you see, yes. We always have discussions before World Cups, but I think there’s certainly been more ahead of this World Cup than I can remember.
“Whether it’s the situation with the referee, whether it’s the ticket prices and pricing real fans out of going to the biggest tournament in the world, I just think it’s an awful look.
“And yeah, it’s not right, not at all.”
That follows similar concerns from Gary Lineker, who has already raised worries over the political climate and costs around the tournament, specifically World Cup ticket prices keeping ordinary fans from participating in the greatest show on earth.
There has been so much politics involved in the build-up to this World Cup that most fans are now just desperate for the football to start. The hope is that once the games begin, the tournament finally finds a cleaner rhythm.
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