World Cup broadcast in pubs: “Not in the mood for football”

Boycott or not? It’s easier for fans to decide than for pubs, for example. Some rely on a critical alternative program instead of the World Cup broadcast, others find the debate too late.

“Boycott Qatar” – the fans of SC Freiburg and 1. FC Union Berlin almost all put up black signs in the stadium on the last day of the Bundesliga match against the World Cup in Qatar. There were similar pictures at the other Bundesliga clubs. They make it clear: “This World Cup will take place without us.”

And the wave of boycotts spilled out of the stadiums into many football bars, such as the “Swamp” in Freiburg. Rudi Raschke works here. “We’re not in the mood for football at this time,” he makes clear. Behind the small pub on the outskirts of the city center is an association that advocates a critical and emancipatory football culture in Freiburg. “This time there will be no public viewing for us,” emphasizes Raschke. Alternatively, the club wants to offer critical readings on the subject of Qatar on World Cup match days.

The community experience is missing

Pubs in other cities are also boycotting the World Cup in Qatar, including “Mit Schmackes” in Dortmund. Ex-national player and world champion Kevin Grosskreutz is one of the owners. His pub will not show any World Cup games, even if this means a drop in sales. Instead, the restaurant wants to donate part of the annual Christmas voucher campaign to the human rights organization Amnesty International.

So far, the mood has not been world champion. Not only because of the human rights situation in the Arab country, but also because an important social aspect is missing, as Henk Erik Meier from the University of Münster explains. He is a professor of social sciences in sport and an expert in audience research. “What we will miss at this World Cup is this community experience, that you see yourself as part of a bigger whole.” This is easier to do in summer when the weather is good. According to Meier, now in winter there is a lack of mobilization of the fans. However, it is conceivable that “people will follow the World Cup at home, with friends”. Meier is certain: The more successful the German team plays, the more people will watch the games – despite the lack of World Cup mood and boycott calls.

From the fans’ point of view, there are many reasons for boycotting the World Cup. Among other things, they criticize the unworthy working conditions of guest workers and corruption in the awarding of the World Cup. In the stadium, Freiburg presented slogans such as “image push through sports abuse”, “guardianship of women” or “no freedom of the press and freedom of expression” on large, white banners. The openly anti-gay statements made by World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman also met with outrage.

No public viewing in big cities

Awareness of the problems in Qatar is also present in pubs that want to show the World Cup. A boycott is not considered sensible here. A large sign hangs above the tap in “Der Kaiser” in Freiburg: “Football is our life” – and that’s obvious here. Max Welze works in the pub that calls itself Freiburg’s soccer temple. He says: “Basically, we are ten years too late to push the topic into the shop window like this.” If Germany plays, the World Cup will be broadcast because: “The German team, the players we support, can’t help it.”

But there will be no big public viewing in Freiburg at this World Cup. And not in other cities like Munich either: This time no large screens will be set up in the Olympic Stadium and at the airport. This is mainly due to the cold in winter.

Not an easy decision

For the fans in Freiburg’s “Swamp” or “Der Kaiser”, the decision to watch the games or not is not easy. “It’s not good that the World Cup has to be in Qatar of all places. But I’ll definitely watch it,” says Rocco Bergemann, for example. Dana Heisterberg, on the other hand, wants to do without, also because she has not yet had any enthusiasm for the World Cup. “I like to watch sports, but I also know that it would be right not to watch the World Cup.” Lasse Gombert would have liked to have the decision taken away from him: “I would prefer it if a lot of national teams had said together: ‘We’re not going to do it’.”

“There is a lot of public pressure to distance yourself from the World Cup in Qatar,” says Meier from the University of Münster. Many people are also outraged by the conditions in Qatar. Nevertheless, he believes that a large part of the population will watch the World Cup. “What bothers me is that this strong moral pressure is now focused on football fans. When something like this happens in Qatar, the end consumer is the last link in a group in which a great many actors and institutions have failed. They should have acted can and must become.”

The World Cup games are shown in Freiburg’s soccer temple “Der Kaiser”. Max Welze hopes that Germany will become world champion. And that as many people as possible on the ground in Qatar express a clear critical attitude. “It’s the only thing we can do.”