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'Embarrassing': Football fans troll Qatar after viral photos show thousands of empty seats at World Cup Final

Even though a sizable contingent of Argentina supporters showed up in the hopes that Lionel Messi would lift the trophy, the stadium was far from full

DOHA, QATAR: Football fans have pointed out the "embarrassing" number of vacant seats at the Lusail Stadium during Sunday's dramatic World Cup final between Argentina and France on December 18. Even though a sizable contingent of Argentina supporters showed up in the hopes that Lionel Messi would finally win the trophy that has eluded him for so long, the stadium was not entirely full. The number of empty seats significantly increased after the second half started, with Argentina leading France, the reigning champions, 2-0, owing to a Messi penalty and an Angel Di Maria goal. The 88,966-seat stadium had thousands of empty seats, and even as the game went on, they did not fill up. 

As expected several social media users came out and reacted to the now-viral snaps of an empty stadium. One user wrote on Twitter, “Empty seats everywhere as the second half starts? Exploding the myth that Qatar is football mad. Embarrassing for Qatar, embarrassing for FIFA.” “Nice gesture by the #Qatar government to leave empty seats at the final in respect of the Ghufran and Kenyan workers who died building the stadium,” another added. Someone noted, “Crazy how many empty seats the stadium has considering it’s the World Cup final. Hall of shame by Qatar.” “Empty seats at the World Cup Final in Qatar is exactly what happens when tickets go to corperates [corporates] instead of fans,” yet another user remarked. 

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Initially, the announcement that Qatar would host the FIFA World Cup sparked celebrations in Doha, marking the first time the championship would be staged in the Arab region. But the decision, which was made in 2010, also drew immediate criticism, including questions about the viability of holding a sporting event in a nation where summer temperatures routinely reach 100 degrees, claims of bribery and corruption against FIFA officials who supported Qatar, and worries about ongoing human rights violations.

When it was chosen to host the tournament in 2010, Qatar lacked several of the stadiums, hotels, and roads necessary. The nation relied on its sizable population of migrant laborers, who make up 90% or more of its labor force, to construct them. More than 6,500 migrant workers from five south Asian nations have died in Qatar since 2010 for a variety of reasons, from work-related accidents, suicides, and deaths from other causes like heat, according to a 2021 investigation by the Guardian. Qatar and FIFA both dispute this figure. Qatar acknowledged the deaths of 37 workers that were ‘non-work-related’ but claims that just three people have died as a direct result of working on the World Cup construction sites.

Meanwhile, Argentina and France performed really well in Qatar despite the low turnout in the World Cup Final. Messi and Angel Di Maria scored goals for Lionel Scaloni's team to take an early 2-0 lead with the French struggling to catch up. However, late goals from Kylian Mbappe turned the game around. In extra time, Mbappe completed his hat trick as Messi also added another goal to his total. Emiliano Martinez then gave another great effort in the penalty shootout to help Argentina win. With the victory, Messi has finally accomplished what his countryman Diego Maradona did and won the trophy that has eluded him his entire career.