When I was in school, I read about a man colouring his entire building with the Brazilian flag. It might not have been a big deal in Brazil, but this was in Bangladesh. It was not an isolated event. Brazil and Argentina fans are colouring bridges and waving flags in Bangladesh for the world cup in Qatar. While Brazil and Argentina are the most popular teams, it is not uncommon to find Bangladeshi supporters of Germany, Spain, France and almost any nation playing in the World Cup. The same is the case for many Southern and Eastern Indian states. South Asian teams do not do well in football, and fans from here support other countries’ teams much like someone might support Manchester United in the English Premier League. A Bangladeshi fan of the Brazilian team might not know who the president of Brazil is but will be able to name all the players in the team. The native population of Qatar is a little more than 300 thousand, while expatriates are more than two million, with the most significant portion coming from South Asia. So, I was surprised when these fans were called fake and paid by Western media and social media users.

The Western media coverage of the World Cup has almost been hysterical. The BBC did not show the ceremony’s opening; instead, they talked about workers’ rights, LGBTQ, and alcohol laws while the ceremony was taking place. These are important issues that need to be and should be addressed. It is also necessary to point out that Qatar is not the only country in the neighbourhood that needs to address these issues. I am all for calling out these countries’ terrible records on human rights, but this feels very selective, and the timing is suspect. Six thousand five hundred workers died out of a population of more than two million since 2010. It is disingenuous to say all died making the world cup possible. Qatar has improved conditions for migrant workers leading up to the World Cup, and the scrutiny has been good in that aspect.

Suppose you only have a hammer; then everything would look like a nail. The Western Media’s coverage of Qatar is no different from its general coverage of the East and the Muslim world. Qatar can take some time to reflect on the criticism and see how it can improve its shortcomings. The criticism does have some merit. Media critic Anita Sarkeesian said, “It's both possible, and even necessary, to simultaneously enjoy media while also being critical of its more problematic or pernicious aspects.” Unfortunately, the criticism of Qatar overlooks the World Cup itself and overshadows a historic event for the Middle East and the Muslim world. Australia was one of the contenders for hosting the cup. If they had won, we would not see similar coverage on the brutal offshore concentration camps, with a high suicide rate, for immigrants and refugees operated by Australia.

(The writer is a Lecturer, Department of Marketing, American International University-Bangladesh)