Muriel M.

@FootballAUS, for the attention of CEO Martin Kugeler: Jordan and Australia share more than fifty years of diplomatic relations. When Australians needed to leave the Palestinian territories to get out of harm’s way, Jordan helped. Last month, your Governor-General remembered that help and spoke of Jordan as a friend Australia could turn to. That friendship has meant something beyond our borders. Our countries have worked together to get medical supplies to field hospitals in Gaza, help Syrian refugee children attend school, and bring governments together to protect aid workers around the world. We take great pride in what Jordan has meant to generations of people fleeing war and upheaval. When Syrian families fled towards our borders, some came under fire from their own country’s forces. Our soldiers carried children and helped the elderly reach safety. We were ready to welcome you in our country. Instead, Football Australia asked to move the match to Doha, sending a message about Jordan that many of us find deeply offensive. Many of us would rather see the match cancelled than played outside Jordan under these circumstances. Yet, the @JordanFA chose to proceed despite our objections. On this matter, it does not speak for us. Football is a national asset and an instrument of public diplomacy. Your team carries Australia’s name, just as ours carries Jordan’s. How you treat the country that invited you says more than anything that happens on the field. And to our own federation: the national team carries our name, our flag and our reputation. We expect you to listen to the people it represents. We offered you our hospitality. We expected respect in return. Fifty years of friendship deserve more consideration than you have given this invitation.

I wasn’t sure from her questions and little whiny voice where she actually stood, but this was the most telling part of the interview. Hats off to Tucker, one of the very few honest voices with influence in American media and politics who continues to speak up. His effectiveness as a communicator is also beyond exceptional.