'Every Football Tournament in The Middle East': Kevin Pietersen Praises Qatar For Memorable 'Experience'

Taking a dig at the behaviour of fans after the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy at Wembley last year, Kevin Pietersen has praised Qatar for ensuring a ‘memorable’ fan experience during the FIFA World Cup 2022 which concluded with Argentina’s title win on Sunday.

Violence broke out during the summit clash of the European football championship as reportedly 2,000 ticketless fans stormed Wembley with FA later apologising for the behaviour.

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A review into the incident later concluded that a situation was created that could have resulted in significant injuries and even deaths.

“A football tournament without hooligans. And being at last years Wembley disgrace & now in Qatar, Qatar is the standout! Maybe EVERY football tournament can be in the Middle East so our fan experience can be memorable!,” Pietersen,  former England cricketer, posted on Twitter.

Argentina won their third FIFA World Cup Trophy after enduring a wait of 36 years with Lionel Messi, widely regarded as one of the greatest to have played the game, playing a starring role in the triumph.

Facing defending champions France in the title clash, Messi and Angel di Maria scored in the first half to give Argentina 2-0 lead. However, late into the second half, the contest turned on its head thanks to Kylian Mbappe’s brilliance as he converted a spot-kick and then added a second few minutes later to pull his team on level terms.

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In the extra time, Messi scored with his right foot to push Argentina ahead one more time but Mbappe then converted another penalty to force a shootout.

Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez then produced a stunning display during the penalty shootout as the La Albiceleste won 4-2 to become the champions.

Messi thus realised his long-cherished dream of winning a world title.

“It’s ( the win) simply unbelievable. I knew that God was going to give me the Cup, I was sure — it was a big joy for us. I had this big dream for a long time, I wanted to close my career with a World Cup. I can’t ask more than this. No, I’m not going to retire from the national team. I want to keep playing as World Cup champions with the Argentina shirt,” Messi said after the match.