Qatar pokes fun at English critics of World Cup bid after Euro 2020 final crowd trouble at Wembley
Media in Qatar have used the crowd chaos at the Euro 2020 final to lampoon English critics of their appointment as World Cup hosts.
British journalists and commentators have been among the most vocal critics of the decision to award the tiny desert state next year’s World Cup.
A Qatari newspaper has been quick to point that the UK has problems of its own, following the scenes at Sunday’s final between England and Italy at Wembley.
The newspaper published a cartoon depicting a finger-wagging British newspaper warning that “Qatar is not capable of hosting a World Cup” while two fans England fight in the background.
The Football Association has launched an investigation into the disarray at Sunday’s final, in which some fans without tickets forced their way into Wembley Stadium.
Mobile phone video footage showed people leaping barriers, charging stewards and fighting inside the ground.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said “there were a large number of drunken yobs trying to force their way in”.
Bullingham said security staff “had never seen anything like it”, adding: “We run a stadium not a fortress. I have to apologise to any fans whose experience was affected and any of the team who had to cope with this.”
Critics of the security operation have accused officials of ignoring warnings that fans without tickets might try to break in and questioned whether enough police were deployed.
Qatar marks 500 days to go until World Cup
Qatar last week celebrated 500 days to go until the 2022 World Cup, having controversially won the vote in 2010.
US prosecutors have since alleged that some members of Fifa’s executive committee were paid to vote for Qatar. Qatar has denied the claims.
The decision has also been criticised by human rights groups, who say much of the World Cup infrastructure is being built by migrants working in exploitative and dangerous conditions.
One report earlier this year estimated 6,500 migrant workers had died in Qatar since the World Cup vote. Qatar denies the allegations and puts fatalities at 38.