The beautiful game? Qatar, football and freedoms

Football is both a beautiful game and an ugly game, all depending on where you are standing. Ask two football fans their verdict on a match and you will get at least three opinions. And interestingly, football is also often a lens through which a nation reveals itself. Hence, in this issue we look at the state of free expression across the world, from the pitch-side up.The Index on Censorship believes in independent reporting around the world. We have contributing editors andcorrespondents filing from Mexico, China, South Korea, the USA, Italy, Yemen, Iraq and Turkey.