A British football fan has been arrested and detained in the United Arab Emirates for wearing Qatar football team T-shirt during a match at the AFC Asian Cup 2019, reported The Telegraph.

Ali Issa Ahmad, a 26-year-old from Wolverhampton, travelled to the UAE in January for a holiday and attended an Asian Cup match between Qatar and Iraq on 22 January. He attended the matched wearing a Qatar shirt, not knowing that doing so in the UAE is illegal and an offence to show any support for its Gulf neighbour.

He was arrested at the match and claimed he was abused by UAE security officials. He was later released, however, he went back to a police station to report the abuse. He was then arrested again and accused of making false claims against authorities.

“This is just unspeakable. He just went to watch a football match while he was on holiday in UAE and says he was arrested and beaten after being accused of wearing a football shirt which promoted Qatar,” his friend, Amer Lokie, told the Guardian.

According to The Guardian, the UAE embassy said it was investigating the circumstances of the arrest and the Foreign Office (FCO) said it was offering support.

The FCO website in its section containing information for travellers to the UAE warns: “The UAE authorities announced on 7 June 2017 that showing sympathy for Qatar on social media or by any other means of communication is an offence. Offenders could be imprisoned and subject to a substantial fine.”

(Cover image credit: Fox Sports)

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Khadiza Begum

Content Writer

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