Qatar 2022: Why didn’t Brazilian referee Neuza Back shake Sheikh’s hand?

The World Cup in Qatar is (finally) over! But while everyone only had eyes for Kylian Mbappé’s performances in Sunday’s final, other images caught the eye. On Saturday 17 December, after the Croatia-Morocco face-off, the referees of the match took part in the traditional awards ceremony. At the queuleuleu, they pass one after the other in front of Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, who puts the medal around their necks and addresses them a few words while shaking their hands. One after the other, they then shook hands with the Sheikh of Qatar who was present for the occasion. One of them even talks into his ear for a long time. But when the turn of Neuza Back, the Brazilian referee, arrives, he passes in front of the sheikh without stopping. They exchange a brief nod, but don’t shake hands, and she continues on her way. Why this exception?

A non-event?

It does not appear that the Sheikh of Qatar refused to shake hands with Neuza Back. The latter did not even attempt the gesture. Should this be seen as a position taken by the referee? Neuza Back is one of the (rare) 6 women selected to referee this World Cup, a historic first time. She made no such statement. The most likely hypothesis is that this scene is simply a reflection of Qatari customs and traditions, where it would be frowned upon for a man to come into physical contact with a woman other than his wife or a member of her family.

Repeat again

It is not the first time that Neuza Back has found himself in this situation. In 2021, after the final of the Club World Cup, also held in Qatar, she too passed in front of the present sheikh that day without shaking his hand. This time they hadn’t even exchanged a glance. If these images are surprising, it is obviously due to the discrepancy between Qatari and Western customs. Add to that a dash of feminism and these images become totally embarrassing, even shocking. But when it comes to Qatar, the discomfort is not only due to customs, which we are not questioning here. It’s the whole issue of women’s rights that comes to the fore during a scene like this.

Recall that in January 2021 the human rights organization Human Rights Watch published a report denouncing the fact that women ” they continue to face profound discrimination in nearly every aspect of their lives in Qatar. There is no discussion about this.