The World Cup in Qatar has turned into a field of political confrontation, as the second match with Iran was preceded by verbal clashes between supporters and opponents of the Iranian regime, and the preceding days saw disputes between Israelis and Palestinians on Qatari soil.
Tensions escalated on Friday in Iran’s second World Cup match after Iranian government supporters harassed other sympathizers of anti-government protests.
Agency said Associated press Stadium security in Qatar has seized flags, T-shirts and other items that contained symbols and phrases supporting the protest movement in the Islamic Republic.
The security of the Ahmed bin Ali stadium, where the Iran-Wales match was held, prevented some fans from entering the Iranian flag, which was adopted before the Islamic Revolution.
Supporters of the pro-Iranian government also snatched old flags from the hands of other fans and insulted those wearing T-shirts with the protest movement’s slogan “Women are free lives”.
Before the match kicked off, the Iranian players sang their national anthem, unlike what happened in the first match against England, when some fans in the stadium were crying while others were booing.
Clashes broke out between fans outside the stadium after the match ended in a fatal victory for Iran (2-0), with some chanting “Women are free lives” and others cheering for the Republic islamic.
The agency notes that small groups of men surrounded three women who were giving interviews about the protests to foreign media outside the stadium, angrily chanting “Islamic Republic of Iran”, which cut off the broadcast.
Many Iranian fans appeared shocked when Iranian government supporters yelled at them in Farsi and filmed them closely with their cell phones.
A 35-year-old woman named Maryam, who like other Iranian fans refused to give her full name out of fear of government reprisals, started crying as men surrounded her shouting and blowing horns and filming her face.
Mariam had the phrase “Women are a free life” painted on her face. “I’m not here to fight anyone, but people were attacking me and calling me a terrorist,” said Maryam, who lives in London but is originally from Tehran. “All I want to say is football doesn’t matter if people I’m killed on the street.”
Maryam and her friends wore caps bearing the name of the famous Iranian soccer player, Fawria Ghafouri, who had criticized Iranian authorities and was arrested on Thursday for spreading anti-government propaganda. She said supporters of the Iranian government forcibly removed their hats from her head.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict
In recent days, videos have circulated on social media of Qataris and other Arabs angrily confronting Israeli journalists who were broadcasting live, as well as pushing, insulting and assaulting them, according to the newspaper.Yedioth Ahronoth“.
What happened, the newspaper said, highlights the depth of the political conflict between the two sides, despite their teams not participating in the tournament.
He adds that many video clips have been circulating showing a Qatari citizen’s refusal to interview an Israeli journalist upon learning of the channel’s nationality, along with other clips of Palestinians and Qataris angrily confronting live Israeli correspondents.
And he indicated that he viewed the incident as proof of Qatar’s reluctance to rapprochement with Israel, despite allowing Israelis to travel directly to Doha and receive consular support for the first time in history to attend World Cup matches.
