Top Qatari football official barred from entering the UAE on the eve of AFC Asian Cup
In a shocking turn of events, the UAE decided to bar Qatari football official Saoud Al Mohannadi from entering the country on the eve of the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Asian Cup.
What is even more shocking is that the Qatari official is also Chairman of the Organising Committee of the AFC Asian Cup, a prestigious tournament the UAE is hosting, reported Gulf Times.
UAE prevents a prominent sports figure from entering its territory two days before the start of the Asian Nations Cup start-up in the UAE between January 5 and February 1. Saud Al-Mohannadi, the Vice-President of the AFC. @alkasschannel @GulfTimes_QATAR pic.twitter.com/oce3h8GY9T
After being disallowed entry, Al Mohannadi, who is Vice President of both AFC and the Qatar Football Association, returned to Doha.
However, the mixing of sports and politics has left a bad taste in the mouth just a day before the official kick-off of Asia’s biggest footballing extravaganza.
Members of the Qatar national team, which is also taking part in the event, are expected to fly out Saturday.
UAE stopped AFC Vice President Saudi Al-Mohannadi to enter #AbuDhabi for an event in which his presence was important, but due to their narrow minded approach and mixing politics in sports they showed their true face. We stand by Mr. Muhannadi. #Qatar #UAE @ALThani_M @AliBakeer
Al Mohannadi was denied permission to travel from Oman to the UAE after airport officials said he wouldn’t be let into the country, reported the New York Times.
Al Mohannadi is the chairman of the AFC’s competitions committee, a group with overall responsibility for the Asian Cup.
Prohibiting him from travelling to the UAE is the first sign that long-simmering political tensions in the Gulf region are likely to have ramifications for the continent’s biggest tournament, reported New York Times.
Al Mohannadi is understood to have written a letter of protest to AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa.
UAE authorities have prevented Qatari Vice President of #AFC, Saoud Abdulaziz Al-Mohannadi from entering UAE. Athletes expressed shock at the Emirati decision and attributed to mixing sport with politics as a citizen without considering his position. #Qatar @fahedalemadi pic.twitter.com/jXpRfcTTvx
The AFC said in a statement that it was aware of reports that Al Mohannadi was being denied the right to travel and that it would investigate.
The AFC said it had been “assured of visas and entry permits” for tournament organising committee members and executives.
The Qatar Football Association said in a statement it had reached out to the AFC about the matter.
“We’ll comment further once we have an official response on the incident,” it said, according to New York Times.
Apart from Saudi govt's smear campaign so as to spread hate against Qatar by misusing innocent children, by denying entry for top Qatari Sports official, UAE behaved now irresponsibly and strangely.
Doing so, both regimes in the region have proved further that in this 21st century they are not competent to deal things well. In fact, the world is mocking them due to these kinds of funny and irresponsible behavior and deeds which blockading countries do not know, their action is pathetic and deplorable.
However, Qatar under the young and energetic leadership is now stronger and achieving self-sufficiency in many areas, blockading countries and their unwise leadership should understand this reality.