Is watching football matches on television forbidden?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Does this mean going to football matches or helping is forbidden?
The Shaykh : No, no, it is not permissible, no, it is difficult, but I see that it is a waste of time, and if it results in a waste of money, then it is a waste of money. I have heard that sometimes the entry ticket reaches ten riyals, God is Great. How? More than a hundred.
Another questioner : By Allah, you young people.
The Shaykh : Yes.
Another questioner : The World Cup, World Cup matches are sold in the black market.
The Shaykh : What does "black" mean?
Another questioner : I have hard currency and a will.
The Shaykh : A lot of dirhams.
Another questioner : They get it through manipulation. Come on, let's see.
The Shaykh : What is the highest ticket price you have heard of? Three hundred riyals. Three hundred riyals or five hundred riyals, well, what makes you spend this money and waste it on watching?
Another questioner : And the return.
The Shaykh : Then watching football has harms. If there is money involved, that is clear. If there is no money, then if it is on a television screen, it is a waste of money, is it not? The television consumes electricity, and if he buys it for this purpose, its value is also a waste. Also, a person may fall into exalting a disbeliever man in his heart.
And this is very dangerous. Exalting the disbeliever is very dangerous. I heard that some players used to give gifts to him, and he was with his wife, they gave him gold, gold, they gave it to him. And if he stopped at the shop owner, he said, "Take it, give him whatever he wants, whatever he desires, it is on our account." What is this talk?
It is wrong, yes. The third is that sometimes there is exposure of the 'awrah, often, and this is not permissible, because looking at the thigh of young men is forbidden, and it is not permissible, and there is fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). So in any case, a sane person does not waste his time, his money, and his thoughts on watching this thing.
The Shaykh : No, no, it is not permissible, no, it is difficult, but I see that it is a waste of time, and if it results in a waste of money, then it is a waste of money. I have heard that sometimes the entry ticket reaches ten riyals, God is Great. How? More than a hundred.
Another questioner : By Allah, you young people.
The Shaykh : Yes.
Another questioner : The World Cup, World Cup matches are sold in the black market.
The Shaykh : What does "black" mean?
Another questioner : I have hard currency and a will.
The Shaykh : A lot of dirhams.
Another questioner : They get it through manipulation. Come on, let's see.
The Shaykh : What is the highest ticket price you have heard of? Three hundred riyals. Three hundred riyals or five hundred riyals, well, what makes you spend this money and waste it on watching?
Another questioner : And the return.
The Shaykh : Then watching football has harms. If there is money involved, that is clear. If there is no money, then if it is on a television screen, it is a waste of money, is it not? The television consumes electricity, and if he buys it for this purpose, its value is also a waste. Also, a person may fall into exalting a disbeliever man in his heart.
And this is very dangerous. Exalting the disbeliever is very dangerous. I heard that some players used to give gifts to him, and he was with his wife, they gave him gold, gold, they gave it to him. And if he stopped at the shop owner, he said, "Take it, give him whatever he wants, whatever he desires, it is on our account." What is this talk?
It is wrong, yes. The third is that sometimes there is exposure of the 'awrah, often, and this is not permissible, because looking at the thigh of young men is forbidden, and it is not permissible, and there is fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). So in any case, a sane person does not waste his time, his money, and his thoughts on watching this thing.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 2759هل مشاهدة مباريات الكرة في التليفزيون حرام؟📔 الشرح الممتع على زاد المستقنع - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.