Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar was all smiles when he stood beside Gianni Infantino, the President of FIFA, at the podium for the Awards Ceremony. His Nation had successfully hosted the FIFA World Cup which had culminated with an edge of the seat affair hailed as the best ever Final at a World Cup. Messi, the crowd favourite had achieved his long standing dream too. The Emir could not have asked for more. His joyous demeanour said it all.
The French, though were upset with the loss, had bravely contested the match and were extremely worthy opponents. Football was the the biggest gainer in the end. The atmosphere was upbeat, the occasion momentous and so Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani in good earnest decided to honour Lionel Messi, the man who had played his part in making the World Cup shimmer by his presence and performance. He had achieved the ultimate goal, the Jules Rimet Trophy was his.
The Harmless Bisht : An Honour for Messi
The Emir very gleefully helped Messi wear the traditional Bisht, a cloak, as a mark of respect and honour to the legend before Gianni Infantino and The Emir together handed over the coveted trophy to Messi. The world watched as Messi covered in the Bisht lifted the trophy with his teammates. The focus was on the team lifting the trophy and that is all which came to my mind and that of millions of others on seeing the celebrations. However a few raised eye brows on the harmless cloak. It had covered the great Messi’s World Cup winning shirt they said, though his shirt could well be seen.
An Unnecessary Controversy
An uncalled for controversy erupted with the Bisht in the centre of it. Primarily worn in the Arab world, the Bisht is a cloak made up of very fine wool, with its sleeves and trimming embroidered in Gold. A robe worn by people of importance, in the royalty, in high offices of the government. It is worn during celebrations and important occasions. The Emir of Qatar, wanted to celebrate Messi’s Success by Culturally honouring him on Qatar’s National Day. Messi too, in all humility accepted the Honour and the Culture of the Arab World as a true sportsman and ambassador of the sport. It was such a marvellous sight as if the World was coming together.
It was not worth criticising an innocent, well intended gesture from The Emir of Qatar. The World needs inclusivity and acceptance of all cultures and communities to make it a better place to live in and we should strive for it.
Let’s Learn it the Messi Way.
Read QUICK, Read BETTER @ rizkhan.in
Featured Image courtesy Eurosport
A gesture of bestowing great honour to a great sports person was misunderstood by some…so rightly mentioned by the blogger.The blogger having an avid interest in sports has done justice in describing and analyzing all the matches of Fifa with so much of thrill and happiness..