The Naming Rights Thread

[thekneaf]

A company not using sport to hide its human rights failings, slavery and corporate manslaughter would be a nice start. Amazon would be a bit shitty but their workers don't generally die on the job.

And issues at Amazon could be resolved with legislation from states and governments.

 

[Donki]

I agree with most on here. You cannot ignore Qatar’s human rights allegations of the recent years.

But most of would happily take an American business. Despite the fairly evident deep seated racism within the police force, the 800 military bases around the world, the killings of thousands of innocents with drone attacks.

It’s all well and good to point the finger at Qatar but we are no better and if anything have done much worse to the world in recent and past times. Every country has its evils albeit Qatar’s are more in the forefront.

An American or British business investing in our club is very much different than the actual state of Qatar investing in our club. A lot of big business in Qatar, airlines included, are usually owned or part by the state.Qatar Airways is 100% government owned. This is how City have managed to make a mockery out of FFP, they are using companies that their owners have set up or own to filter money into the club in the guise of legitimate sponsorship.

 

[piedpiper]

Let's be honest if it was the Holy church of Rome there'd still be plenty of people who'd have a problem with it.
It's a stadium sponsorship that's all and if it brings in loadsamoney then I'm fine with it.

Read this over and over..so many holier than thou sentiment being expressed. Some of it appears more xenophobic because it's Arab based sponsorship.

It's a stadium sponsorship ....a stadium. Getting your panties in a not...frothing at the mouth...Threatening not to watch the world cup. Come on.

 

[Saoirse]

Read this over and over..so many holier than thou sentiment being expressed. Some of it appears more xenophobic because it's Arab based sponsorship.

It's a stadium sponsorship ....a stadium. Getting your panties in a not...frothing at the mouth...Threatening not to watch the world cup. Come on.

Do you understand why some of us might find it rather galling to be invited to the Qatar Airways Stadium every week, when if I got a Qatar Airways flight to Doha I'd be arrested and imprisoned for who I am? Or when other posters have family members who've suffered human rights abuses from them? It's not xenophobic, it's the absolute crap reality.

 

[JimmyG2]

QA Arena? QA Stadium?

Qatarena

 

[Joely]

Where do you guys draw the line? Is Bezos ok when he doesn’t pay minimum wage and doesn’t pay uk taxes? Show me a noble company willing to pay big money to sponsor a football team and I’ll show you my 3some pics with Margo Robbie and Pritti Patel.

Exactly. Not like our very own Joe Lewis is exactly whiter than white...

Tottenham Hotspur owner takes over ancestral land in Argentina | Latin America Bureau

British businessman and football club owner, Joe Lewis, has created resistance from the indigenous community by purchasing and developing their ancestral lands in Rio Negro, Argentina. Lewis blocks access to the land, where he has hosted Israeli soldiers and former right-wing President Mauricio...

lab.org.uk

 

[piedpiper]

Do you understand why some of us might find it rather galling to be invited to the Qatar Airways Stadium every week, when if I got a Qatar Airways flight to Doha I'd be arrested and imprisoned for who I am? Or when other posters have family members who've suffered human rights abuses from them? It's not xenophobic, it's the absolute crap reality.

Rather dramatic..... why would you be arrested. Nike aren't the most saintly organization either... they sponsor us. I've seen plenty buy their shirts. We will find different reasons to be offended by a sponsor. go find a Israeli based sponsor, some American sponsor the result will be the same. Emirates, Etihad, Gazprom....the club can't be all things to all people.

 

[Amo]

Read this over and over..so many holier than thou sentiment being expressed. Some of it appears more xenophobic because it's Arab based sponsorship.

It's a stadium sponsorship ....a stadium. Getting your panties in a not...frothing at the mouth...Threatening not to watch the world cup. Come on.

I'm from an Arab country not too far from Qatar. I protest migrant worker conditions there, too. It's nowhere near as bad as Qatar's sense of godly entitlement to enslave human beings but it's still exploitative.

Which non-Arab states treats migrant workers like this that we're all turning a blind eye to out of xenophobic hate for Arabs?

 

[stov]

I agree with most on here. You cannot ignore Qatar’s human rights allegations of the recent years.

But most of would happily take an American business. Despite the fairly evident deep seated racism within the police force, the 800 military bases around the world, the killings of thousands of innocents with drone attacks.

It’s all well and good to point the finger at Qatar but we are no better and if anything have done much worse to the world in recent and past times. Every country has its evils albeit Qatar’s are more in the forefront.

I wouldn't say happily. But if we are talking a choice between Qatar and an American company I'd know which I'd choose everytime.

I think many are ill-informed about what actually happens in the gulf States. Slavery was only formally abolished in the 60s (1970 in Oman), but still continues today through the confiscation of passports meaning immigrant workers can't leave the country. If you've stayed in a hotel in dubai or Qatar its likely the Bangladeshi porter has little choice in being there. There's also the treatment of women and black people. The corruption of the monarchies.

 

[stov]

Read this over and over..so many holier than thou sentiment being expressed. Some of it appears more xenophobic because it's Arab based sponsorship.

It's a stadium sponsorship ....a stadium. Getting your panties in a not...frothing at the mouth...Threatening not to watch the world cup. Come on.

Absolute bullshit. Do some research, I'm actually Muslim and have been to Qatar and dubai.

 

[Aay_Jay_Dee]

Is AIA Chinese? If so there could be debates to be around their human rights, particularly with the Rohingya. Also (correct me if I am wrong) I believe that the Govt has some sort of ownership or control over all Chinese businesses?

Should there not be a similar outcry?

P.s let’s not even start on the fact it’s red

 

[stov]

I wouldn't say happily. But if we are talking a choice between Qatar and an American company I'd know which I'd choose everytime.

I think many are ill-informed about what actually happens in the gulf States. Slavery was only formally abolished in the 60s (1970 in Oman), but still continues today through the confiscation of passports meaning immigrant workers can't leave the country. If you've stayed in a hotel in dubai or Qatar its likely the Bangladeshi porter has little choice in being there. There's also the treatment of women and black people. The corruption of the monarchies.

I also worked in a bank in Mayfair and had many dealings with royalty from Bahrain and Qatar, let's just say they were extremely corrupt, I had to tell them on many occasions we can't do what you're asking in the UK. One particularly odious Prince has a full meltdown and almost got me sacked

 

[Saoirse]

Rather dramatic..... why would you be arrested. Nike aren't the most saintly organization either... they sponsor us. I've seen plenty buy their shirts. We will find different reasons to be offended by a sponsor. go find a Israeli based sponsor, some American sponsor the result will be the same. Emirates, Etihad, Gazprom....the club can't be all things to all people.

Because (and this isn't something I've talked about here before) I'm transgender. My passport says F, my presentation says F, the image they'd see when I went through a bodyscanner at security and the hormones I'd be carrying would suggest something else. It's awful enough for LGB people who have to walk on eggshells and hide who they are on threat of imprisonment - that in itself isn't "rather dramatic". But for us it's a literal impossibility to step foot there.

Now bare in mind this doesn't just mean I can't go to Qatar - as you've probably gathered, I reallllly wouldn't want to anyway! It means I can't get any flight that features a layover in Qatar (or Saudi, or the UAE, etc). Heck, many of us would be very cautious or stressed about even booking a flight that goes over that part of the world, because we'd be screwed if it had to make an emergency landing. In this way, the success of Qatar Airways actively makes my life worse, as more and more flights to places that aren't completely stuck in the middle ages feature layovers there and therefore become totally inaccessible to me.

This isn't all just about us. It's more about the millions of people, particular women, migrant workers and LGBT people, who live in that region and regularly have their human rights totally abused. I'm not asking for whiter-than-white. I'm just asking for someone that isn't a literal human rights abusing dictatorship. I know those words are thrown around perhaps too liberally these days, but in this case they are not in the slightest an exaggeration.

 

[stov]

Is AIA Chinese? If so there could be debates to be around their human rights, particularly with the Rohingya. Also (correct me if I am wrong) I believe that the Govt has some sort of ownership or control over all Chinese businesses?

Should there not be a similar outcry?

P.s let’s not even start on the fact it’s red

It's an American Chinese company set up by American in China (HongKong). Don't think they have much influence on what the Chinese govt do.

 

[Stamford]

Read this over and over..so many holier than thou sentiment being expressed. Some of it appears more xenophobic because it's Arab based sponsorship.

It's a stadium sponsorship ....a stadium. Getting your panties in a not...frothing at the mouth...Threatening not to watch the world cup. Come on.

No doubt there is some xenophobic sentiment but we can't ignore the abuses from these regimes either. Two things can be true.

Only thing I would say is this country isn't exactly blessed with a wonderful treatment of people around the world

 

[Saoirse]

Is AIA Chinese? If so there could be debates to be around their human rights, particularly with the Rohingya. Also (correct me if I am wrong) I believe that the Govt has some sort of ownership or control over all Chinese businesses?

Should there not be a similar outcry?

P.s let’s not even start on the fact it’s red

Not sure they'd appreciate that - they're Hongkongers!

 

[piedpiper]

Absolute bullshit. Do some research, I'm actually Muslim and have been to Qatar and dubai.

What does your ethnicity have to do with a sponsorship? We can find reasons to be offended by any sponsor...look at AIA.... oh no it's red...never red on our shirts. If Qatar Airways is the ACTUALLY the stadium sponsor then I'm okay with it.

 

[stov]

No doubt there is some xenophobic sentiment but we can't ignore the abuses from these regimes either. Two things can be true.

Only thing I would say is this country isn't exactly blessed with a wonderful treatment of people around the world

Is the UK govt looking to sponsor our football club?

 

[stov]

What does your ethnicity have to do with a sponsorship? We can find reasons to be offended by any sponsor...look at AIA.... oh no it's red...never red on our shirts. If Qatar Airways is the ACTUALLY the stadium sponsor then I'm okay with it.

Ethnicity? I'm white. Anyway don't think it's worth engaging any further as you are clearly missing my point.

You also said xenophobia was part of the criticism. The fact I'm Muslim and have been to the countries suggests that xenophobia might not be the my motive for criticism of Qatar.

 

[Saoirse]

What does your ethnicity have to do with a sponsorship? We can find reasons to be offended by any sponsor...look at AIA.... oh no it's red...never red on our shirts. If Qatar Airways is the ACTUALLY the stadium sponsor then I'm okay with it.

If "their logo is red" and "they kill thousands and inflict misery on millions" are equal on your ""moral compass"", I really don't know what to say tbh