No drugs, no crime, great World Cup: Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his 10/10 Qatar experience

By Sports Desk March 21, 2023

What Zlatan Ibrahimovic likes most about Qatar is everything.

He made that point in a Sweden press conference on Tuesday, giving 10/10 ratings to all aspects of the World Cup experience and saluting the country's lack of crime and drug problems.

The 41-year-old Milan striker had no part to play in the Qatar 2022 finals, owing to Sweden's failure to qualify, but he was a guest at the final, being pictured at the Argentina versus France showpiece game along with tennis superstar Novak Djokovic.

Asked for his impressions of the tournament and the country as a whole, Ibrahimovic said: "It was fantastic. As awesome as it gets. I was there for two days with the family."

He gave a rundown of his ratings for all aspects he encountered, saying: "The organisation: 10 points. The experience: 10 points. The match: 10 points. Crowd: 10 points. The food: 10 points. The journey: 10 points. Everything was 10 points."

When it was pointed out to Ibrahimovic that Qatar has faced criticism over alleged human rights abuses, Ibrahimovic stuck to his theme and gave a final mark to the country.

"Ten points," he said.

Pressure groups have claimed women and people from LGBTQ+ communities are particularly badly treated in Qatar, along with migrant workers.

Amnesty International said ahead of the World Cup that hundreds of thousands of such workers had been exploited, pointing to thousands dying suddenly or unexpectedly.

The same organisation said last week that "many thousands of workers have been unable to obtain compensation for horrific abuses linked to the World Cup", calling on football's world governing body FIFA to ensure this is rectified.

Qatar has been accused by its critics of attempting to 'sportswash' its reputation by putting on a successful major event that runs smoothly and paints the country in a positive light internationally.

Ibrahimovic will not be levelling such an accusation at Qatar's door, though, because he had a 10/10 time during his stay.

Speaking in a further interview with broadcaster SVT, the former Barcelona, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain striker added: "I think they have given opportunities to get a job. Then how they treated them, I haven't been there and seen, so I can't judge and answer those questions."

Ibrahimovic played for PSG during the early years of the Qatar Sports Investments era at the Parc des Princes, and Qatari club chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi joined him and Djokovic in their World Cup final photo.

The veteran Swede therefore has that close connection, and Ibrahimovic said: "Qatar as a country, I think it is a system that works. Are there drugs? No. Is there crime? No. Is there crime in Sweden? Yes, very much. Drugs? Yes.

"Qatar's system works. The Swedish system? It works, but if it works 100 per cent, I don't know."

Related items

  • Valencia 1-3 Girona: Visitors secure highest ever La Liga finish of third Valencia 1-3 Girona: Visitors secure highest ever La Liga finish of third

    Girona secured their highest ever finish of third in La Liga with a 3-1 win away at Valencia on Sunday.

    Having already clinched Champions League football for the first time in club history, Girona took the lead at the Mestalla through Savio with 32 minutes played.

    Artem Dovbyk doubled his side's advantage close to the hour mark, before an own-goal from Yarek Gasiorowski made it 3-0 with 23 minutes left.

    Pepelu netted from the spot for the hosts, but it only proved a consolation as Valencia failed to win for the sixth straight game, while Girona ensured third spot thanks to their victory and fourth-placed Atletico Madrid's 4-1 home defeat to Osasuna.

  • Barcelona 3-0 Rayo Vallecano: Lewandowski and Pedri on target as Blaugrana seal second place Barcelona 3-0 Rayo Vallecano: Lewandowski and Pedri on target as Blaugrana seal second place

    Barcelona beat Rayo Vallecano 3-0 in their final home game of the season on Sunday to secure second place in LaLiga.

    An early Robert Lewandowski goal and a quick-fire double from Pedri got the job done for the Blaugrana.

    The result moved Barcelona to 82 points, four points above Girona, who won 3-1 away at Valencia.

    Champions Real Madrid are 12 points above Barca with one more round of games left.

    Barca took the lead in the third minute when Lamine Yamal, on his 50th appearance, cut in from the right wing and chipped the ball to Lewandowski, who expertly controlled the pass with his chest and volleyed home.

    Although Rayo had their chances to level, Barcelona doubled their lead with some magical footwork from Joao Felix who saw his shot saved but Pedri managed to score from the rebound to give the home side a two-goal cushion.

    Barely three minutes later, Pedri spotted a gap in Rayo's high defensive line and he was put through on goal with a long ball from centre-back Ronald Araujo, allowing the 21-year-old to fire home and double his goal tally for the season.

    Barca will finish their season away at Sevilla next weekend while Rayo, who are 16th, host Athletic Bilbao.

    Data Debrief: Lewy hits 25, again

    Lewandowski has now scored 25 goals in all competitions this season.

    He has netted at least 25 times in all competitions in each of the last 11 seasons, three campaigns more than any other player in top five European leagues over that period.

  • Villarreal 4-4 Real Madrid: LaLiga's top scorer Sorloth scores four in thrilling comeback Villarreal 4-4 Real Madrid: LaLiga's top scorer Sorloth scores four in thrilling comeback

    Villarreal forward Alexander Sorloth struck four times in 17 minutes to help his side fight back and snatch a 4-4 home draw against LaLiga champions Real Madrid on Sunday.

    Madrid opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Turkey youngster Arda Guler slotted home a low strike off a Brahim Diaz pass before Joselu doubled the lead with a close-range header on the half-hour mark.

    Sorloth pulled one back for Villarreal with a towering header in the 39th minute, but Lucas Vazquez restored Madrid's two-goal advantage a minute later, before Guler made it 4-1 in the final seconds of the first half.

    But the hosts rallied after the break, with Sorloth scoring three goals in eight minutes, between the 48th and 56th minutes, as he reached 23 league goals this season to take LaLiga's Golden Boot award.

    A second-half collapse will frustrate Carlo Ancelotti in the final league game of the season, with a Champions League final to come against Borussia Dortmund on June 1, but Madrid still achieved another record here.

    Los Blancos surpassed the best unbeaten run in their entire LaLiga history after making it 31 games undefeated, eclipsing the previous record set between May 1988 and April 1989 with Leo Beenhakker as coach.

    Data Debrief: Shot-heavy Sorloth delivers

    Sorloth attempted nine shots in this game, the joint-highest total for a player in LaLiga this season, but those efforts paid dividends for his eye-catching four-goal haul.

    He had played five games against Madrid and failed to score in all of them before this, against no other opponent has he played more games without scoring in the competition, but delivered emphatically here.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.