Even worse. Leagues generally run late August to late May.
"Plus the example of the recent Winter Olympics where the NHL was without their star players for three weeks."
Which the NHL is now having serious reservations about ever doing again. And soccer doesn't need the PR like the NHL thought it would get from the Olympics
"If they want to be PC and give a Muslim desert country their turn to host, then they ought to pay the price right during their season, not on the backs of some unfortunate third world construction workers."
For me this selection was mainly about bribery, with a small helping of PC just thrown on up.
You are probably right, but my point is that they should reap what they sow and not kill some 45 year old father from Sri Lanka who just came for a construction job to support his family.