Mideast tensions spill into Qatar World Cup
STORY: It's the first World Cup held in the Middle East – and the region's politics are never far away.
Iran's protests, Arab fans' pro-Palestinian sympathies and host-nation Qatar's own ambiguous diplomacy have all been under the spotlight.
Iran's matches have been the most politically charged, both on the pitch – when the Iranian team refrained from singing the national anthem – and off it.
A headache for Qatar, which has good ties with Tehran.
Ahead of Iran's first match, security denied entry to fans carrying Iran's pre-Revolution flag and T-shirts with the slogan "Woman, Life, Freedom" and "Mahsa Amini" – the young woman whose death in custody sparked the current protests.
"Take to storage? We have nothing else to wear. What do we wear?"
"Go to the mall and buy a t-shirt."
"You go to the mall and buy a t-shirt?"
Iranian-American fan Shayan Khosravani shows Iran's pre-revolution flag, banned inside the country.
He says he has been told to hide it.
"I wanted to come to the World Cup to support the people of Iran, because we know it is a great opportunity to speak for them, we know the national team is not speaking for them so we kind of wanted to put them in shame too, telling them like, hey, we come across the whole world to just use this opportunity to tell you guys and the rest of the world like hey what is happening in Iran is messed up, like you guys need to back people up."
Pro-Palestinian sentiments are also on display.
Qatari players have worn pro-Palestinian arm-bands...
And this Israeli journalist reporting from Qatar met a cold response from Arab fans...
"I am from Israel brother"
"You are from Israel? What brought you here?"
Qatar wants a smooth tournament that will cement its role on the global stage and in the Middle East.
It's something of a regional maverick: it hosts the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas but allowed Israeli fans to fly in for the first time.
It has given a platform to Islamist dissidents deemed a threat by Saudi Arabia and befriended Riyadh's foe Iran.
The largest U.S. military base in the region is here.
Omar Barakat is a soccer coach for the Palestinian team, which didn't make the tournament. He says security staff have allowed him into matches wearing the Palestinian flag.
"It is the Arab cause, we have seen many non-Palestinians wearing the flag, non-Arabs wearing the flag. This is my fourth flag. I have given away four and I let people borrow a lot of flags during the match just to take a photo. It is a political statement, and we are proud of it."
Such loyalties and rivalries have added to the political dimensions of a tournament already mired in controversy over the treatment of migrant workers and LGBT+ rights.
相關影片推薦
- 1:302次強震重創花蓮觀光 東大門夜市蕭條|#鏡新聞鏡新聞14,869 次觀看・8 小時前
- 1:52餘震太多! 東大門夜市沒遊客 攤商躺平休息TVBS新聞網影音26,805 次觀看・5 小時前
- 1:26女長期睡機場又大鬧國門 不聽勸阻遭警驅離東森新聞影音365,140 次觀看・2 天前
- 2:06麻辣鍋名店驚傳熄燈! 5/5結束營業老饕不捨華視影音40,930 次觀看・7 小時前
- 1:37抓到了!「無頭貨櫃」國道奪命 落跑運將落網|#鏡新聞鏡新聞19,196 次觀看・7 小時前
- 2:01蹭危老末班車熱度? 板橋48年透天開價1 5億天價東森新聞影音47,231 次觀看・1 天前
- 0:49一分鐘報天氣 / 週日 (04/28) 今明鋒面持續影響各地天氣仍不穩定,下週一短暫空檔週二至四再變天Yahoo奇摩新聞(報氣象)1,058 次觀看・8 小時前
- 1:23「一粒」將登大聯盟! 表演前啃蟹腳超可愛|#鏡新聞鏡新聞3,376 次觀看・9 小時前
- 1:56新北議會衝突!陳明義兒2022選同區 早與蔣根煌結樑子民視影音103,274 次觀看・3 天前
- 1:49餘震搖不停!花蓮人嘆家被震成廢墟像「世界末日」東森新聞影音5,515 次觀看・5 小時前
熱門必看
- 5:28精華|12星座BL戀愛攻/受排行榜!牡羊就是一個字「衝」!?唐綺陽談星室21,470 次觀看・2 天前
- 7:42入手老屋大翻新到底多花錢? 壁紙也是大魔王?網友:根本千層派Yahoo創作摩人3,222 次觀看・3 天前
- 0:38今天直接怒吃兩份在地人推薦的旭達豆漿!板橋Edenx食旅23,255 次觀看・4 天前
- 14:19超多林俊傑的歌都他寫的!金曲獎、金鐘獎得獎人也來接唱!◆嘎老師 Miss Ga|歌唱教學 學唱歌◆嘎老師 Miss Ga1,953 次觀看・2 天前
- 10:32焦糖化洋蔥3種做法,不同切法味道大不同!_ 日本男子的家庭料理 TASTY NOTE日本男子的日式家庭料理1,555 次觀看・1 天前