This is going to be a weird series as each post will have an idea that is completely different from the other in terms of theme and even target audience and criticism. This post is going to be all about the possibility of whether the World Cup was rigged so Lionel Messi would win. What I ask of everyone reading this is to wait until the series is complete before making an overall judgement.
A few days ago, Louis Van Gaal, the famous Dutch manager came out with an explosive statement saying that The World Cup was rigged for Messi. If you're looking for the extremely short version of this post, here it is. I honestly don't believe that there is anything preventing Van Gaal's comments from being true.
I am not saying it is true, I am just saying that, in 15 years' time, if Infantino says in an interview, a book, a journal, or to a judge that he and the rest of FIFA intentionally and deliberately influenced refs and other means so that Messi would win the World Cup, I wouldn't be surprised.
Never mind the fight between Van Gaal and Messi, as the pair's problems go before the Argentina vs Netherlands match even started. This is not even the first time Messi's Argentina knocks out Van Gaal's Netherlands out of the World Cup. Also, never mind Virgil Van Dijk and Koeman's counterpoint representing the locker room in saying that they disagree with Van Gaal. Also, never mind Van Gaal's reasons behind making such statements, he could be doing this out of bitterness, ego, self-absorbant, or whatever, Never mind all of that and let's just look at that statement as just a statement floating in space.
As abstract, unbiased, fair, logical, and reasonable human beings, is it really that far-fetched to assume the possibility of corruption in FIFA of all organizations? Forget all the ready responses such as "salty", "burned", "roasted", and "Camera wowo", Do we actually know whether that statement is completely false? Yes, the burden of the statement is in proving it, not us being unable to disapprove it, but let's look at this statement as a possibility or a theory.
No Dissproving Evidence
You can't disprove a theory where a team was helped by pointing to the few incidents where the team wasn't. You can't say Team A wasn't helped by the ref or outside force in a game against Team B because two weeks prior, they lost to Team C. So if Van Gaal's theory is Argentina were helped in their beating of Netherlands, you can't use Argentina losing to Saudi Arabia as counter-evidence. It just doesn't work that way.
Things aren't measured this way. If I were to say that a certain team was helped by forces outside of fair football, call it ref bias, referee corruption, organisational pressure, media presences, or whatever, it can't be possible that the team was helped at every second in the way. It takes very few moments and the referee calls to decide a game. It's one "close" or "soft" penalty that could decide a game. So, being unable to prove that a team was helped in all matches, all the moments, and all the time doesn't mean that a team wasn't helped in some of the matches, some of the moments, some of the time. It can't be all or nothing, that's just nihilism.
This is just nihilism built on something that never happens. It's built on countering a theory that says Infantino gathered all the referees, all the venue owners, all the managers, all the teams, and all the VAR assistants in the World Cup in one room and all agreed to help Messi, that's not possible. So, using an example of one incorrect call against a team or a match result isn't disproving this theory.
Bear in mind, I am actually of the school that doesn't believe much foul play was on display in the World Cup. I actually believe all the penalties Argentina had, including the one against Poland were justly given within the parameters of football rules. Do I believe there weren't certain yellow cards and calls given or not given that Argentina benefitted from? Yes. But, not ones I haven't seen given or not at any level for any team in the world. It wasn't unusual to see Messi not getting yellow-carded against the Netherlands, I saw players shushing and telling opposite fans and managers to calm down and sit with no retribution all the time.
So, why am I saying this? Well, because when it comes to the World Cup, my track record is very consistent and I can say whatever I believe regarding this issue without having my bias called out. I said before that I don't believe the World Cup to be a tournament worth judging any player over, I said before the World Cup that Messi doesn't need it to prove anything, although he himself did say otherwise. So, I don't consider the World Cup that important beyond the fun of watching it, and the 2022 version was the most fun I had watching a World Cup at all stages, including the games that were considered afterthoughts. Also, the main reason I am saying what I am saying? Because it is simply possible to be true.
There's a track record of corruption, which I will get into in the next post. However, for now, let me conclude this with the following:
No One Knows What They're Talking About
Neither Van Dijk, Koeman, nor Messi's fans can tell for sure that there were no "compliments" given by FIFA to certain players or teams during the World Cup. This is just an abstract reason. Let's just burst the naivete bubble that football is clean. I know it's difficult, but it definitely was for me. It was much easier to carry on living in the bubble that besides a few times here or there, football was absolutely clean. We're not watching football because it's fair, we're watching because it is fun to watch.
This is the ugly reality, but there are tons of evidence and confessions. People in charge don't care about integrity, fairness, honesty, or any of the good traits we often associate with football. It's about money and power. This is the ugly reality, and if you can't handle this, well, step out of the debate entirely. Because it's an ugly reality and if your brain is unable to comprehend it....... too bad I guess.