It’s taken for granted that Osama Bin Laden and his Islamic fundamentalist cohorts hate everything about Western culture, including sport. After all, the Taliban famously banned kite flying, Pakistani gunmen attacked a Sri Lankan cricket team, etc. Turns out that assumption’s a bit off, as not only does Osama reportedly not have a problem with the beautiful game (so long as players cover up their legs), Al Qaeda types have used football as a sort of social glue to help bond with the locals, as well as a recruiting tool.
So it must seriously stick in Osama’s craw that the only two Muslim-majority nations (Nigeria and Algeria) that qualified for this year’s tourney were both sent packing early on. Hmmm… Given the Jihadis’ blind faith and blinkered loyalties, it might not be a bad idea for online gambling companies to check if any suspiciously large wagers were placed on either team from accounts based in Waziristan… Read more.
