Podbit · Pod Save the World
Tommy Vitor catalogues MBS's record: ordering the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, torturing family members in a power grab, spraying a ceiling with bullets during a fight with his mother, launching the Yemen war, and cutting a $2 billion check to Jared Kushner. He's now palling around with Infantino at the G20 — and that's what makes FIFA's position so alarming.
Where this was said
At 51:30 · chapter starts 47:45
Saudi Arabia's upset win over Argentina — ending a 36-game unbeaten streak, compared to a 16-seed March Madness upset [1] — Roger Bennett "Saudi beat Argentina 2-1 on 36-game streak: Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina 2-1, ending Argentina's 36-game unbeaten streak — described as …" 50:07 — is the tournament's first jaw-dropping football moment. But Roger's focus is on the Emir of Qatar, who consciously wrapped a Saudi flag around his neck during the game: a calculated geopolitical signal, not a football fan's moment of abandon, that the era of the Qatar-Saudi blockade is truly over. Tommy then delivers a comprehensive and alarming portrait of Mohammed bin Salman [2] — Tommy Vitor "Tommy Vitor catalogues MBS's record: ordering the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, torturing family members in a power grab, spraying a ceiling w…" 51:30 : the Khashoggi murder, the torturing of family members during a brutal internal power grab, The Economist's report of him spraying bullets into the ceiling during an argument with his mother, the war in Yemen, the $2 billion check to Jared Kushner, and the Live golf money flowing toward Trump's clubs. His conclusion: MBS is a corruption dealer, and Infantino's increasingly warm relationship with him is genuinely alarming — especially with a Saudi bid for the 2030 World Cup now in the works.
Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina 2-1, ending Argentina's 36-game unbeaten streak — described as a '16-seed knocking off a number 1' moment in March Madness terms.
The Emir of Qatar wrapped a Saudi flag around his neck while watching Saudi Arabia beat Argentina — a conscious geopolitical signal that their years-long blockade is truly over. Tommy argues Saudi Arabia is now looming larger over this World Cup than Qatar itself, with a 2030 bid in the works and MBS's money flowing everywhere.
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