The FIFA World cup is in its final stages, and soon the media will remove its spotlight from Qatar. Though it has flown by over the last few weeks, the World Cup has provided many moments that viewers will not soon forget, both on and off the field. While upsets and blowouts have kept many fans engaged, the tournament’s politics have become a central narrative and have drawn significant attention.

So what is the big deal? Why has the tournament become a vessel for so much turmoil in areas seemingly unrelated to the sport?

The attention that comes with hosting the world’s largest tournament has refocused the public eye on things that have been out of mind for many. The main culprit has been Qatar. Since it made its bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup back in 2010, the whole affair has been fraught with controversy. There were concerns over logistical factors, such as hosting the tournament in the region’s hot, arid climate (the reason this World cup is the first ever held in the cooler winter months), the environmental costs, and constructing the seven new stadiums and immense amounts of other infrastructure required.

In total, Qatar spent over 200 Billion USD on tournament preparation. This hulking figure dwarfs the price tags on all the previous tournaments combined, the second most expensive of which being the 2014 edition in Brazil, which cost roughly 20 billion USD. This makes the tournament easily the biggest ever case of sports washing; using sports to improve one’s reputation, such as hosting a lavish, high-profile tournament to make your country look better.

The massive amount of labor required to meet the demands of the hosts ended up being carried out mainly by migrant workers in harsh conditions, raising major human rights concerns. The Guardian has reported that an estimated 6,500 migrant workers lost their lives while working on preparations.

Before matches began, there were serious questions about whether Qatar should have been allowed to host, and they have only proceeded to make their case worse. Qatar practices Islam as its state religion, entailing laws against homosexual behavior, as it is deemed immoral and can result in prison time for offenders. This has become a catalyst for tension throughout the tournament, as Qatar has continued to enforce these laws. In contrast, participating nations continue to challenge them to the extent that fan apparel, team uniforms, and captains’ armbands have been confiscated and banned for carrying LGBTQ+ designs.

In response, several countries have shown their own forms of dissent. The German national team covered their mouths in their pre-match team photo before their first game to criticize the silencing of teams protesting against Qatar. Players from other teams chose to take a knee before their matches. While reactions are mixed, there has been no shortage of coverage of any developments, pushing the issue further.

Though Qatar has been the largest source of agitation, USMNT fans will be quick to point out Iran’s aggressive behavior leading up to their match with the United States in the final round of the group stage. A video went viral on social media of USA captain Tyler Adams facing aggressive questioning from an Iranian reporter after the USMNT social media page posted a graphic with an altered Iranian flag. While the video’s focus was focused on Adams’ calm demeanor, the alteration of the flag carries more weight.

The flag had the Islamic symbol removed from the middle in a move that was supposed to show solidarity with the protests in Iran. The human rights movement in Iran has seen hundreds of protesters killed and thousands arrested by the theocratic government. The situation was further exacerbated when players from the Iranian National Team refused to sing their national anthem in their game against England. According to both CNN and the New York Post, the Iranian government threatened to imprison and torture the families of players who did not sing the anthem in the match against the United States.

After Iran lost the match, reports from the BBC emerged of a man being killed for honking his car horn in celebration. As people around the country celebrate their loss, the situation continues to worsen. A quick look at headlines of news regarding Iran will show the viewer that the government has just conducted its first formal execution directly related to the protests, women are being brutally slaughtered while participating in anti-hijab demonstrations, and more and more people within the country are calling for the regime to be overthrown. Many questions remain up in the air in Iran, one of which is what will become of the players of the national team as they arrive home. And what will happen to their families?

The reality of politics is that they will find a way to rise to the surface, no matter what else is going on. Even the great unifying force of the world cup does not have the power to prevent that. The advantage of the tournament being confiscated by the outcry in the middle east is that it has drawn immense international attention that would have been challenging to get under other circumstances.

For the migrant workers in Qatar, the people of Iran, and many others in similar situations, the World Cup has helped to give a voice to people and human rights groups who are finally seeing an opportunity to incite change. So while it may detract from the glitzy image of the tournament, we must acknowledge the filthy underbelly of the World Cup.