Pep Guardiola has hit out at the ‘crazy World Cup’ and said he would not blame his players for being distracted, as former Fifa president Sepp Blatter admitted that picking Qatar as hosts was a ‘mistake’.
And in a new low for the tournament, which starts on November 20, World Cup ambassador and former Qatar player Khalid Salman said homosexuality is ‘damage in the mind’.
Guardiola’s Manchester City host Chelsea in the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday and Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday, and the manager said he would understand if his internationals were scared of picking up an injury on the eve of the tournament.