Henderson and the Western hypocrisy towards LGBT

For any of us, al-Ettifaq is just one of many names that hint at the current Saudi dominance of European football, which is being ruptured by petrodollars. But in recent hours, the Dammam club – in al-Sharqiyya province, the wealthiest and most important region in Saudi Arabia – have become particularly famous with the purchase (now almost official) of Jordan Henderson, captain of Liverpool and of the England national team and proud advocate of LGBT rights. Let’s talk about someone who scored the first goal for the Three Lions at Euro2020 wears boots with rainbow laces. Good heavens!Marco Giallini’s Rocco Schiavone would say.

As if to say: We’re talking about a really serious guy here, a dedicated footballer with his head on his shoulders. Henderson, on the other hand, was always very attentive to certain themes, and the shoelaces were just the aesthetic promise of a strong ethical stance. For his speeches in support of LGBT, our hero had received a “Football Ally” nomination in April 2021 (Soccer Ally of the Year) at the British LGBT Awards. A well-deserved acknowledgment: the list of Henderson’s noble deeds is actually quite long. In an interview with the athletethe Liverpool captain had spoken out in favor of the campaign rainbow laces of the Premier League, in tones worthy of Claudio Marchisio: “I am a parent, a husband, a son and a brother, and the idea that someone I love can be uncomfortable being a member of the LGBT community , makes me think: What race?“ Do we live in one world?».

It’s a valid question, but the answer is terrible. The world we live in is, to answer Henderson, a world in which not only is there a clear and obvious contradiction between what we say and what we do – he should know that perfectly well – but , what is worse, a world ruled by hypocrisy What sets us apart does not prevent us from judging negatively or with a tone of supposed superiority in a world far removed from ours. It has already happened with Qatar, now it is happening with the Saudis: All fine political ideas, the noble campaigns of the most important Western companies and the flowery speeches of the most spoiled European footballers fall under the blow of the millions deposited in the safe with immediate effect.

There really is a lot of money coming out of Saudi Arabia, but its weight cannot only be quantified in economic terms. It would be superficial to think so. The mountain of money blanketing European football is revealing – once again – its bleak hypocrisies. Renzi said that when talking about Serie A, let’s paraphrase it when we talk about Europe in general: it’s a dead continent, but it doesn’t know it. On the other hand, the corpses are also properly prepared before being handed over to the Creator once and for all.

Speaking of masks: Between the one and the other statement, Henderson made his decision some time ago: his transfer to Saudi Arabia is a question of details between the Saudi club and Liverpool Reds. It was just worth it Outcry from LGBTQI+ communities The player’s decision was called upon to “prove that he is a man of his word, true to himself and to the values ​​of our club”. As for us, we are neither surprised nor bitter. Henderson is alone one of the many names, and to be amazed at his demeanor means your eyes are full of ham (or propaganda, if you prefer). When it comes to the LGBT issue – but also, as we have already said several times, to the BLM issue – European football is nothing other than the mirror of a culture that is all the more so announced at least does. So Adam Crafton onward the athlete he just repeated it what we’ve written countless times in these columns: “If we work together.” [con l’Arabia Saudita] In our society we are all accomplices.

And again, “Every time we hear from these dedicated athletes taking a stand and speaking up for minorities, but the examples materials of this commitment are very rare indeed. […] For example, when England went to Qatar, players lost their votes overall [lost their tongue] after years of allusions to all forms of solidarity.

We go even further, toning down the colonial tones of those who want you to believe the West is the WestRiverbed of civilisation, the maximum expression of political, social and religious tolerance that human history has produced. In other words, we would be cautious about judging the Saudi ancien regime from top to bottom. Especially when the observation point comes from our World.

The one in which the idea of ​​freedom is established as an absolute ethical principle – in faith, in politics, in expression – but the world’s best tennis player is forbidden from participating in the sport because he is not vaccinated. Or the one in which, as already mentioned, after months of #boycottQatar, finally all national teams (not excluded) take part as if nothing had happened. The West is that wonderful place where you can’t go to the Olympics as a Russian, but the – always Western – relationships with the Russian gas pipelines and the Russian economy don’t touch. Finally and foremost, the West is the part of the world that teaches ethics Bank Transfer Opposite. That’s what the ideas of “our culture” are worth. Jordan Henderson probably doesn’t know, but al-Ettifaq is Arabic for “agreement.” A strange coincidence.